LIBEREC
A major industrial and administrative center of North Bohemia, Liberec
lies between the Jizerske Mountains and the Jested ridge, with the Jested
peak rising just to the south of the city. The first appearance of the city
in writing comes from the year 1352, in church records revealing that
the little village on the Nisa River already had a parish church and that
it was a trade center occupyimg a valuable spot on overland trade routes.
At the time the town was in the hands of the Bilberstein family residing
in Frydlant Castle to the north. The city is just a few kilometers from the
border with Germany, and for a long time was a primarily ethnic German city.
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JABLONEC NAD NISOU
The first mention of Jablonec nad Nisou dates back to the year 1356, when
it was a small Czech village just to the southeast of present-day Liberec.
But the village suffered greatly during the Hussite Wars, when Catholic
troops from Lusatia to the north utterly devastated it in 1469, leaving nothing
but an apple tree on the banks of the River Nisa. Jablon is Czech
for apple tree, so the town's name translates roughly to 'Apple tree over
the Nisa.' The village was re-established 70 years after being destroyed,
mostly by glass-makers invited from Saxony by the nobility. By the middle
of the 16th century, a number of glass factories were in operation in
the area, which was now called Gablonz by the primarily German-speaking
population.
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