Libštát () is a market town in

Semily District Semily District () is a Okres, district in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Semily, but the most populated town is Turnov. Administrative division Semily District is divided into three Districts of the Czech Rep ...

in the

Liberec Region Liberec Region () is an administrative unit (Czech language, Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Liberec. The region shares international bor ...

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 900 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name was derived from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

words ''liube stat'', meaning 'nice place'.

Geography

Libštát is located about southeast of

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

. It lies in the

Giant Mountains Foothills In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from ...

. The highest point is the hill U Jeřábu at above sea level. The Oleška River flows through the market town.

History

The first written mention of Libštát is from 1322, when it was a property of Hynek of Waldstein. The village was probably founded in the 13th century by German immigrants. The

Waldstein family The House of Waldstein (Valdstejn, Valdonio, or Wallenstein) is an old, wealthy and important noble family from Central Europe (Germany and the Czech Republic). They owned many castles across Europe. Origin The House of Waldstein or House of V ...

owned Libštát until 1391. After that, less important noble families took turns in ownership. From 1525, the village was referred to as a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Demographics

Transport

Libštát is located on the railway line Liberec–

Jaroměř Jaroměř (; ) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Josefov Fortress. Josefov is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repu ...

Sights

A cultural monument is the former Evangelical prayer house. It was built in 1839–1842 and is a unique proof of renewal of the Evangelical community in the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands (, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia out of which Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, were formed. ...

. Next to the prayer house is a separate wooden bell tower. A valuable three-arched stone bridge from 1822 spans the river Oleška. It is decorated with statues of St. Wenceslaus and St. John of Nepomuk, dating from 1851.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Libstat Populated places in Semily District Market towns in the Czech Republic