Dobrovice is a town in

Mladá Boleslav District Mladá Boleslav District () is a district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Mladá Boleslav. Administrative division Mladá Boleslav District is divided into two administrative districts of municipal ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. It is known for one of the oldest sugar factories in the world.

Administrative division

Dobrovice consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Dobrovice (1,962) *Bojetice (247) *Chloumek (129) *Holé Vrchy (168) *Libichov (193) *Sýčina (267) *Týnec (181) *Úherce (347) Chloumek, Libichov and Sýčina form an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of the municipal territory.

Geography

Dobrovice is located about south of

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

and northeast of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. It lies on the border between the

Jizera Table The Jizera Table () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Central Bohemian Region, northeast of Prague. Geomorphology The Jizera Table is a mesoregion of the Central Bohemian Table wit ...

and

Jičín Uplands The Jičín Uplands () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Hradec Králové, Liberec and Central Bohemian regions. Geomorphology The Jičín Uplands are a mesoregion of the North Bohemian ...

. The highest point is the hill U doubku at above sea level.

History

The first written mention of Dobrovice is from 1249. In 1541, lords of Chlum built a fortress in Dobrovice. In 1558, Dobrovice gained town rights and the fortress became a castle.

Demographics

Economy

There is a sugar factory in the town since 1831. It is the biggest and the oldest sugar factory in the Czech Republic, one of the oldest sugar factories in the world and the oldest one still working in its original premises. Since 2004 the sugar factory holds the name of its owner, French conglomerate Tereos.

Transport

Dobrovice is located near the D10 motorway from Prague to

Turnov Turnov (; ) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is a traditional centre for gemstone polishing, glass craftsmanship and arts. The historic town centre is well preserved and ...

, which briefly runs along the northwestern municipal border. Dobrovice is located on the railway line Mladá Boleslav–

Nymburk Nymburk (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mo ...

. However, the train station is situated outside the built-up area, between the fields southwest of the town proper.

Sights

The late Renaissance town hall was built in 1610 and reconstructed in 1674, after it was damaged by fire. Its tower is a landmark of the town square and today serves as a lookout tower for public. The Church of Saint Bartholomew was built in the Renaissance-Gothic style in 1559–1571. It is a valuable sacral area with a number of quality sculptures. The Baroque rectory dates from 1709. The sugar factory opened museums of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

production,

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

production and

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

processing in May 2010.

Notable people

* Bedřich Feuerstein (1892–1936), architect, painter and essayist * Jiří Adamíra (1926–1993), actor * Marie Tomášová (born 1929), actress

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Mladá Boleslav District