Žatec
Encyclopedia
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, in Louny District
Louny District
Louny District is one of seven districts located within the Ústí nad Labem Region in the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the city of Louny.-Complete list of municipalities:Bitozeves -Blatno -Blažim -...
, Ústí nad Labem Region
Ústí nad Labem Region
Ústí nad Labem Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western part of its historical region of Bohemia...
. It has a population of 19,813 (2006).
The earliest historical reference to Sacz is in the Latin chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
of 1004. During the 11th century it belonged to the Vršovci
Vršovci
The Vršovci were a noble Czech family and clan, probable or legendary ancestors of some bearers of the Oksza and the Rawicz coat of arms ....
- a powerful Czech aristocratic family. A coat-of-arms was given to the inhabitants by Vladislav II for their courage during the storming of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and the place is mentioned as a royal town under Otakar II
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
. From the outbreak of the Hussite Wars
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
to the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the town was Hussite
Hussite
The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...
or Protestant, but after the Battle of White Mountain
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...
(1620) the greater part of the Czech inhabitants left the town, which remained German and Roman Catholic until 1945, when the Germans were transferred to Germany.
Žatec lies on the Ohře River
Ohre
The Ohře is a 316 km long river in Germany and the Czech Republic , left tributary of the Elbe. The basin area of the river has a size of 6,255 km², of which 5,614 km² are in the Czech Republic and 641 km² in Germany...
(Eger), which is spanned here by a suspension bridge, 64 m (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 became famous for an over-700-year-long tradition of growing Saaz
Saaz hops
Saaz is a "noble" variety of hops.It was named after the Czech city of Žatec . This hop is used extensively in Bohemia to flavor beer styles such as the Czech pilsener.Saaz hops accounted for more than 2/3 of total 2009 hop production in the Czech Republic....
noble hops used by several breweries. Žatec produces its own beer and hosts 'Dočesná', its (hops related) harvest festival every year on the town square.
People
- Gabriel AntonGabriel AntonGabriel Anton was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. He is primarily remembered for his studies of psychiatric conditions arising from damage to the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia....
- Leo Baerwald (September 20, 1883, Saaz, Bohemia - April 8, 1970, New York), rabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
- Eugen GuraEugen GuraEugen Gura was a German operatic baritone.Gura was born in Nové Sedlo, Louny District, Bohemia ....
- Johannes von TeplJohannes von TeplJohannes von Tepl , also known as Johannes von Saaz , was a Bohemian writer of the German language, one of the earliest known writers of prose in Early New High German ....
- Petr KotvaldPetr KotvaldPetr Kotvald is a Czech singer.In 1986 he started his solo career and has since toured with his own band Trik.The group saw the light of day in mid-June 1986, the band had as his guest for three years Hana Křížková...
, pop-music singer - Karel ReinerKarel ReinerKarel Reiner was a Czech composer and pianist, persecuted by Nazis as a Jew and by communists as a formalist. He was the only classical composer to survive the concentration camp in Theresienstadt.- Life :...
- Jan SvěrákJan SverákJan Svěrák is a Czech film director. He is the son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák. He studied documentary filmmaking at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
- Maria TrebenMaria TrebenMaria Treben née Günzel was an Austrian author and herbalist who in the 1980s became famous through her two books: Health Through God's Pharmacy and Maria Treben's Cures...
- Miroslav VargaMiroslav VargaMiroslav Varga is a sports shooter and Olympic Champion for Czechoslovakia. He won a gold medal in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul....