Libočany
Encyclopedia
The small village of Libočany (German: Liebitschan (bei Saaz) or Liebotschan), in Ústí nad Labem Region
, Czech Republic
, stands near the town of Žatec
on a bank of the Ohře
River, by the mouth of the small tributary Liboc River. It has a population of 523 (2006 census). It is famous for Václav Hájek z Libočan, the most renowned Czech chronicler of Baroque times, who was probably born there.
monastery in Doksany
. Václav Karel Schroll of Schrollenberg built a new château on the site of an older stronghold with a new church and clergyman's house in Rococo
style (1770). The château had a large park with statues and fountains in the back.
The church, built in 1773, is dedicated to All Saints
. The vault paintings depict the scenes from lives of some patron saints. The organ was made in 1775.
Before 1918 Libočany was part of the Bohemian part of the Austrian Empire
. In 1919 it became part of the newly independent Czechoslovakia
. In 1938, along with the Sudetenland
, it was annexed by Germany after the Munich Agreement
. In 1945 it was restored to Czechoslovakia and most of its German speaking inhabitants were expelled.
, Budweiser Bier, and Michelob). The latter place, as well as Liebotschan, are located in the Saaz hops
region, and bear Czech language names since 1918. Several local American breweries have produced beer under the name of the former Austrian village, or abbreviated to Lieb (e.g. Chattanooga Brewing Co. in Tennessee
, Stegmaier Brewing Company, or Lion Brewery, Inc.
, Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania
; Genesee's Liebotschaner Beer was pronounced best of Rochester
's post repeal
brews in 1932).
The production of beer in Libočany ended after World War I
when the Austrian Empire
was dissolved and Czechoslovakia
n authorities took over. The buildings of the brewery were demolished in 1939. After World War II
, in socialist Czechoslovakia, it was replaced by a collective farm.
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...
, Czech Republic
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....
, stands near the town of Žatec
Žatec
Žatec is an old town in the Czech Republic, in Louny District, Ústí nad Labem Region. It has a population of 19,813 .The earliest historical reference to Sacz is in the Latin chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg of 1004. During the 11th century it belonged to the Vršovci - a powerful Czech...
on a bank of the Ohře
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...
River, by the mouth of the small tributary Liboc River. It has a population of 523 (2006 census). It is famous for Václav Hájek z Libočan, the most renowned Czech chronicler of Baroque times, who was probably born there.
History
First mentioned in 1226, it was on property of the PremonstratensianPremonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
monastery in Doksany
Doksany
Doksany is a village and municipality in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 369 ....
. Václav Karel Schroll of Schrollenberg built a new château on the site of an older stronghold with a new church and clergyman's house in Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style (1770). The château had a large park with statues and fountains in the back.
The church, built in 1773, is dedicated to All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
. The vault paintings depict the scenes from lives of some patron saints. The organ was made in 1775.
Before 1918 Libočany was part of the Bohemian part of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. In 1919 it became part of the newly independent Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In 1938, along with the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
, it was annexed by Germany after the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
. In 1945 it was restored to Czechoslovakia and most of its German speaking inhabitants were expelled.
Beer
The brewery from the 19th century produced beer even for US trade with a stock in New York.. The Liebotschaner Beer was among four Bohemian beer brands exported to the USA (the others were Pilsner UrquellPilsner Urquell
Plzeňský Prazdroj , known better by its German name Pilsner Urquell , is a bottom-fermented beer produced since 1842 in Pilsen, part of today's Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the first pilsner beer in the world...
, Budweiser Bier, and Michelob). The latter place, as well as Liebotschan, are located in the Saaz hops
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....
region, and bear Czech language names since 1918. Several local American breweries have produced beer under the name of the former Austrian village, or abbreviated to Lieb (e.g. Chattanooga Brewing Co. in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Stegmaier Brewing Company, or Lion Brewery, Inc.
Lion Brewery, Inc.
Lion Brewery, Inc, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States, is one of the oldest breweries still in operation within Pennsylvania. Its beers and sodas are sold in Pennsylvania and neighboring states.-History:...
, Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
; Genesee's Liebotschaner Beer was pronounced best of Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
's post repeal
Repeal of Prohibition
The Repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933.-Background:...
brews in 1932).
The production of beer in Libočany ended after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
was dissolved and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n authorities took over. The buildings of the brewery were demolished in 1939. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in socialist Czechoslovakia, it was replaced by a collective farm.
Famous people
- Václav Hájek z Libočan was probably born in Libočany. He wrote the Bohemian Chronicle in 1541, the most popular and widespread chronicle in the Czech lands until the 1770s.
- Emanuel Wetzler was born in Libočany in 1839. He was a music editor and he published many works by Antonín DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, Bedřich SmetanaBedrich SmetanaBedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
, and Zdeněk FibichZdenek FibichZdeněk Fibich was a Czech composer of classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works , symphonic poems, three symphonies, at least seven operas , melodramas including the substantial trilogy Hippodamia,...
. He died in 1901. - Božena Viková-Kunětická (1862–1934), the first female member of the Czech dietDiet (assembly)In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
, spent her last 12 years in Libočany. - Emil Wetzler, Austrian music publisher of the 19th century