Semily (; ) is a town 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 8,000 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Semily consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Semily (2,554) *Bítouchov (374) *Podmoklice (4,989) *Spálov (81)

Etymology

The name means "the settlement of semils". The old Czech word ''semil'' was the designation of a person who is nice. So Semily was a settlement of nice people.

Geography

Semily 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 ...

. Most of the municipal territory 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 ...

, only in the southwest, it extends into the

Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge (; ) is a ridge and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Western Sudetes. The vast majority lies in the Liberec Region. Geomorphology Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge is a mesoregion of th ...

. The highest point is the Medenec hill at above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the Jizera and Oleška rivers. The Kamenice River briefly flows along the northwestern municipal border and then joins the Jizera. The valley of the Jizera near Semily is protected as the Údolí Jizery Nature Reserve.

History

The first written mention of Semily is from 1352, when existence of a church is mentioned. In the middle of the 19th century, the settlement transformed into a wealthy town when the industrialization arrived and the development of rail transport occurred. Semily also profited from an advantageous location near the Jizera River.

Demographics

Transport

Semily lies on the railway line Liberec–

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

Sights

The main landmark is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. It was built in the Neo-Romanesque style in 1908–1911, after the old Baroque church from 1702 was torn down. The Church of Saint John the Baptist was built in the Baroque style in 1723–1727. It is a valuable cemetery church. Dr. Karel Farský prayer house was built for the

Czechoslovak Hussite Church The Czechoslovak Hussite Church (, ''CČSH'' or ''CČH''; ) is a Christian church that separated from the Catholic Church after World War I in former Czechoslovakia. Both the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and Moravian Church trace their tradition ...

in 1938 and is considered one of the most valuable buildings of modern architecture in the region. ''Obecní dům'' is a large Art Nouveau house built in 1906–1909, which forms a significant landmark in the historic centre of the town. The house is decorated with a mosaic by Jano Köhler. The town hall dates from 1874. It replaced an old dilapidated wooden town hall from 1702. The Museum and Regional Gallery is located in a historical one-floor house first documented in the early 17th century, where

Antal Stašek Antal Stašek (born Antonín Zeman) (22 July 1843 – 9 October 1931) was a Czech writer and lawyer. Life and work Stašek was born in the village of Stanový (now part of Zlatá Olešnice) in northern Bohemia. From 1877, Stašek was a successfu ...

worked and his son

Ivan Olbracht Ivan Olbracht, born Kamil Zeman (6 January 1882 – 20 December 1952), was a Czech people, Czech writer, journalist, censor and translator of German language, German prose. Biography The son of writer Antal Stašek and his Jewish-born Catholic ...

was born. The museum and gallery has been located there since 1960.

Notable people

* František Ladislav Rieger (1818–1903), politician *

(1843–1931), writer and lawyer, lived and worked here in 1877–1913 *

Bohumil Kučera Bohumil Kučera (March 22, 1874 in Semily – April 16, 1921 in Prague) was a Czechs, Czech physicist. Biography Kučera studied physics at the Charles University in Prague and was the first scientist in Czech lands to examine the newly discovered ...

(1874–1921), physicist *

(1882–1952), writer *

Magdalena Jetelová Magdalena Jetelová (born 4 June 1946) is a Czech installation artist and land artist, who has achieved international acclaim. Known mainly for her environmental installation works, Jetelová combines light, architecture, photography, sculpture ...

(born 1946), artist

Twin towns – sister cities

Semily is twinned with: * Kolochava, Ukraine * Schauenburg, Germany

References

External links

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