Žatec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Žatec (IPA: [ˈʒatɛts]; German: Saaz) is an old town in the Czech Republic, in the Ústí nad Labem Region. The earliest historical reference to Žatec is in the Thietmar of Merseburg Chronicle of 1004. During the 11th century it belonged to the Vršovci - a powerful Czech aristocratic family. It has a population of 19,813 (2006).
A coat-of-arms was given to the inhabitants by Vladislav II for their courage during the storming of Milano, and the place is mentioned as a royal town under Ottokar II. From the outbreak of the Hussite Wars to the Thirty Years' War Žatec was Hussite or Protestant, but after the Battle of White Mountain (1620) the greater part of the Czech inhabitants left the town, which became German and Roman Catholic.
Žatec lies on the Ohře River, which is spanned here by a suspension bridge, 210 ft. long, which is the oldest of its kind in Bohemia, having been constructed in 1826. It possesses several ancient churches, of which one is said to date from 1206, and a town hall built in 1559. Žatec is the centre of the extensive hop trade with an over-700-year-long tradition of growing and producing of this plant. Žatec produces its own beer and hosts 'Docesna', its (hops related) harvest festival every year on the town square.
[edit] People
- Leo Baerwald (September 20, 1883, Saaz, Bohemia - April 8, 1970, New York), rabbi
- Eugen Gura
- Petr Kotvald, pop-music singer
- Jan Svěrák
- Johannes von Tepl
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Friends of Saaz/ Žatec (in German and English)
- Australia homepage for Zatecky Pivovar (beer)
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