Žatec

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Template:For Template:Infobox settlement Žatec (Template:IPA; Template:Langx) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Žatec is famous for an over-700-year-long tradition of growing Saaz noble hops used by several breweries. Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation and partly also as an urban monument zone.

Administrative division

Žatec consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

  • Žatec (17,729)
  • Bezděkov (338)
  • Milčeves (97)
  • Radíčeves (141)
  • Trnovany (26)
  • Velichov (86)
  • Záhoří (50)

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Etymology

The name Žatec is derived from the Old Czech word záteč / zateč. It was a designation for a place on a river where ice accumulates in a narrowed channel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Žatec is located about Template:Convert west of Louny and Template:Convert northwest of Prague. It lies in an agricultural landscape in the Most Basin. The highest point is at Template:Convert above sea level. The Ohře River flows through the town. The Liboc River joins the Ohře on the western outskirts of the town. The Blšanka River flows through the Trnovany part of Žatec and then joins the Ohře just outside the territory of Žatec.

Climate

Žatec's climate is classified as oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb; Trewartha: Dobk). Among them, the annual average temperature is Template:Convert, the hottest month in July is Template:Convert, and the coldest month is Template:Convert in January. The annual precipitation is Template:Convert, of which July is the wettest with Template:Convert, while February is the driest with only Template:Convert. The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from Template:Convert on 11 February 1929 to Template:Convert on 20 August 2012.<ref name=extremes>Template:Cite web</ref>

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History

The Priests' Gate, part of remains of the town fortifications

The first written mention of Žatec is in the Latin chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg of 1004. In 1248, Žatec was firstly titled as a town. In 1265, it received the privileges of a royal town from King Ottokar II.<ref name=historie>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 16th century, Žatec had around 5,000 inhabitants and was one of the most populous towns in the kingdom. In 1827, a chain bridge over the Ohře, the first chain bridge in Bohemia, was built.<ref name=historie/>

From the outbreak of the Hussite Wars in 1419 to the Thirty Years' War, the town was Hussite or Protestant, but after the Battle of White Mountain (1620) the greater part of the Czech inhabitants left the town.<ref name=historie/> It remained an ethnically German town until 1945, when the Germans were expelled. On 3 June 1945, 5,000 male Sudeten German inhabitants from Žatec were marched to the town square of Postoloprty, and at least 763 were murdered. Estimates range up to 2,000 victims killed by Czechoslovak military on the march, in Postoloprty, and in Žatec on and after the march.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

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Economy

Žatec and its surroundings is known for its tradition of growing Saaz hops. Saaz hops or Žatec hops is a protected designation of origin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The tradition of beer brewing started here in 1261; growing of hops is first documented in 1348.<ref name=historie/> In 1800–1801, the Žatec Brewery started its production, which continues to this day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transport

Žatec train station

Žatec is located on the railway line Plzeň–Most. The town is served by two train stations: Žatec and Žatec západ.

Culture

Žatec hosts Dočesná, a hops-related harvest festival. It takes place on the town square every September.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Žatec is home to three secondary schools: Žatec Gymnasium, Business Academy and Secondary Vocational School of Agriculture and Ecology, and Secondary Vocational School SČMSD (focused on the hotel industry and gastronomy). There are six primary schools and a primary art school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sport

Žatec is represented by the football club FK Slavoj Žatec, playing in lower amateur tiers. It was founded in 1936.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The main sports facility is the Mládí Stadium. It was founded in 1965.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Flora Stadium is a sports facility in the south of the town. It was founded between 1924 and 1938.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Until 1960, it had a motorcycle speedway track at the site.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sights

Hošťálkovo Square with Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Since 1961, the historic core of Žatec has been protected as an urban monument reservation. It is a collection of important buildings and architectural styles from the Romanesque period to the Art Nouveau.<ref name=historie/>

Since 2003, the area south of the historic centre has been protected as an urban monument zone. It is valuable mainly for its technical constructions related to hop growing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is one of the most significant monuments. It was originally built in the Romanesque style and some of its Romanesque parts are still preserved. In 1724–1728, the Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk was added. Around 1740, the west façade was reconstructed in the Baroque style.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The hop-growing and brewing tradition is widely presented by the town. There are Hop Museum and Brewing Museum. The Temple of Hops and Beer is a tourist complex with several attractions, including a lookout tower and a small astronomical clock. Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops (which includes the village of Trnovany within Žatec and the village of Stekník) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Retro Computer in Žatec is a permanent exhibition of home computers from the 1970s to the 1990s. It is a private collection of over 135 pieces of functional technology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Žatec was used as a filming location for many historical films and TV series, including<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yentl (1983), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992), Les Misérables (1998), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999), Oliver Twist (1999), Burning Bush (2013),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Zookeeper's Wife (2016),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A Bag of Marbles (2017) and Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit (2019).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

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Twin towns – sister cities

Template:See also Žatec is twinned with:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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Template:Louny District Template:World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic

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