Varnsdorf

Varnsdorf
Town
Flag
Coat of arms
Country Czech Republic
Region Ústí nad Labem
District Děčín
Commune Varnsdorf
River Mandava
Elevation 332 m (1,089 ft)
Coordinates CZ 50°53′N 14°37′E / 50.883°N 14.617°E / 50.883; 14.617Coordinates: CZ 50°53′N 14°37′E / 50.883°N 14.617°E / 50.883; 14.617
Area 26.21 km2 (10.12 sq mi)
Population 15,674 (2015-01-01)
Density 598 / km2 (1,549 / sq mi)
First mentioned 1357
Mayor Stanislav Horáček
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 407 47
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Varnsdorf
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.varnsdorf.cz/

Varnsdorf (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvarnzdorf]; German: Warnsdorf, Upper Sorbian: Warnoćicy) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic, with a population of around 16,000. The town is close to the border with Germany, with border crossings to the Saxon towns of Seifhennersdorf and Großschönau, and is the second largest in the Děčín District.

Varnsdorf museum
Pre-Schengen passport stamp for the border crossing into Germany.

The village of Warnsdorf was first recorded in the fourteenth century, and it united with nearby villages in 1849 to form the largest village in the Austrian Empire. It was made a town in 1868. The town was one of the early sites of Old Catholic Church, and an Old Catholic cathedral remains a tourist attraction. The population has declined somewhat since its peak - the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica gives it as 20,000, and noted it was a textile town.

Prior to the end of World War I, Warnsdorf was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following that war, the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye incorporated it, together with the region of Bohemia, into the new country of Czechoslovakia. Following the end of World War II, its ethnic German population was mostly expelled to Germany, and the official spelling of its name was changed from the German "Warnsdorf" to the Czech "Varnsdorf".

Around 2500 buddhist Vietnamese live in and around Varnsdorf, the city hosts the first buddhist temple in Czech Republic[1]

Varnsdorf is also home to the Kocour Brewery, who make a range of ales, including American style IPA and a stout.

Notable residents

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Varnsdorf.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.