Louny

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"Laun" redirects here. For other uses, see Laun (disambiguation).
Louny
Town
View from the south
View from the south
Flag of Louny
Flag
Coat of arms of Louny
Coat of arms
Louny is located in Czech Republic
Louny
Louny
Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°21′26″N 13°47′49″E / 50.35722°N 13.79694°E / 50.35722; 13.79694Coordinates: 50°21′26″N 13°47′49″E / 50.35722°N 13.79694°E / 50.35722; 13.79694
Country Czech Republic
RegionÚstí nad Labem
DistrictLouny
First mentioned1115
Government
 • MayorPavel Janda (TOP 09)
Area
 • Total24.14 km2 (9.32 sq mi)
Elevation
185 m (607 ft)
Population
 (2021-01-01)[1]
 • Total18,156
 • Density750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
440 01
Websitewww.mulouny.cz

Louny (Czech pronunciation: [ˈlounɪ]; German: Laun) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts[]

Villages of Brloh and Nečichy are administrative parts of Louny. Brloh forms an exclave of the municipal territory.

History[]

Louny in 1650; engraving by Matthäus Merian the Elder
Town walls with the Žatec Gate

Already at the turn of the 11th–12th centuries there was a settlement named Luna, located on the site of today's Church of Saint Peter.[2] The first written mention of the settlement is from 1115, when it was a property of Kladruby Abbey. In the 1260s, a royal town was founded at its place by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. It was located on two important traffic routes, river Ohře and the road from Prague to Nuremberg. Together with the town a Benedictine monastery was founded, but it was destroyed during the Hussite Wars.[3]

The town rapidly developed in the 15th century, when Church of Saint Peter, Church of the Mother of God and town fortifications were built.[2] After a fire in 1517, the town was severely damaged and had to be rebuilt, and a new church (Church of Saint Nicholas) was built.[3]

During the 19th century and then in the 1960s and 1970s, there was extensive demolitions in the historical town and many valuable Renaissance houses and parts of town fortifications were destroyed. The economic development of Louny occurred in the second half of the 19th century, when railway repair shops, sugar factory, brewery, slaughterhouses, mills and financial institutions were founded. After 1945, industrialisation of Louny continued.[3]

Until 1918, Laun – Louny was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the compromise of 1867), in the district of the same name, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia.[4]

Demography[]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18694,260—    
18805,938+39.4%
18906,814+14.8%
190010,698+57.0%
191012,034+12.5%
YearPop.±%
192112,266+1.9%
193012,413+1.2%
195012,356−0.5%
196112,537+1.5%
197013,452+7.3%
YearPop.±%
198017,543+30.4%
199120,812+18.6%
200119,639−5.6%
201118,121−7.7%
202118,156+0.2%
Source: Historical lexicon of municipalities of the Czech Republic[5]

Economy[]

The town lies on a railway junction and a factory for overhauling railway engines and rolling stock, later known as Heavy Machinery Services, was established in 1873. It was a major employer and contributed to the town's expansion during the early 20th century. The company was the town's largest employer until 2014, when it went bankrupt. Since 2019, the industrial complex is rented to the DAKO-CZ company, which is a brake system manufacturer for rolling stock.[6]

Other industries include a brewery (from the hops which are grown in the region) and a factory making porcelain electrical insulators for power cables. The largest employer with headquarters in Louny is Fujikoki Czech s.r.o. company, producer of thermostatic expansion valves used in car air conditioners.[7]

Sights[]

Church of Saint Nicholas
Regional museum in Pivovarská street

The most important architectural feature is Roman Catholic Church of Saint Nicholas, built in 1519–1538 in the late Gothic style. One of the architects was Benedikt Rejt. It incorporates a tower from an earlier church which was otherwise destroyed along with most of the town by a major fire in 1517. Other significant churches in the town are Church of Saint Peter from the 14th–15th century, Church of the Mother of God from 1493 and Church of Fourteen Holy Helpers from 1716.[3]

The historic centre of Louny forms Mírové Square and its surroundings. The town hall on the square is a Neo-Renaissance building from 1887. The most valuable building on the square is a Renaissance house, today the seat of the district archive.[3]

Parts of the town ramparts remain, as does the Žatec Gate which dates from 1500.[8]

Notable people[]

See also: Category:People from Louny

Twin towns – sister cities[]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Louny is twinned with:[9]

References[]

  1. ^ "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2021". Czech Statistical Office. 2021-04-30.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Město" (in Czech). Město Louny. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Dějiny města" (in Czech). Město Louny. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  4. ^ Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm Klein, 1967
  5. ^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Louny" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 7–8.
  6. ^ "Areál lounské vagonky si pronajme DAKO-CZ. Práci nabízí i zaměstnancům zkrachovalého podniku" (in Czech). E15. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  7. ^ "O společnosti" (in Czech). Fujikoki Czech s.r.o. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  8. ^ "Žatecká brána v Lounech" (in Czech). Kudy z nudy. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  9. ^ "Partnerská města" (in Czech). Město Louny. Retrieved 2021-07-26.

External links[]

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