Mělník

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Statistics
Area:	24.97 km²
Population:	19,077 (2005)
Map

For the town in Bulgaria see Melnik, Bulgaria.

Mělník (IPA: [ˈmɲɛlɲi:k]) is a town in the Czech Republic, Central Bohemian Region. It lies at the confluence of the Labe and Vltava rivers, approx. 35 km north of Prague. The Region belongs to the most important agricultural areas of the Czech Republic. The main agricultural plants are fruits, vegetables, potatoes, corn, sugar beet and wine.

1 History
2 Vine-growing
3 Industry
4 Twin towns
5 External links

[edit] History

Mělník

In the 5th and 6th century many Slavonic tribes lived here and the tribe of Pšovans created its main settlement in Mělník. Saint Ludmila, who married the Bohemian prince Bořivoj, belonged to this tribe. Denar coins of the princesss Emma are the first demonstration of the existence of Mělník. In November 1274 Mělník gained the statute of town from king Přemysl Otakar II and later became a royal town belonging to Bohemians queens. The castle, confiscated by the communists, has now been restored to its traditional owners, the princes of Lobkowicz.

[edit] Vine-growing

Princess Ludmila began with vine-growing in Mělník and later the Holy Roman emperor and Czech king Charles IV continued in this activity, importing vines from Burgundy. Now wine-growing continues to be a big tradition in Mělník, and every autumn a wine-harvest celebration (vinobraní) takes place here.