Děčín is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region in the Elbe valley, where the river enters the Elbe Canyon; the first written mention of the Děčín province dates from 993.
Děčín is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region. It lies in the valley of the Elbe, where the tributaries Ploučnice on the right and the Jílovský potok on the left separate the landscape of the Central Bohemian Uplands from the rocky cliffs of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. This is where the river enters the so-called Elbe Canyon. The Elbe is the axis of the main settlement, which spreads into the valleys of its tributaries.[1]
Earliest settlement
According to the town, the Děčín Basin has been settled almost continuously since the La Tène period. Archaeological finds come from the right bank, from the area of Kvádrberk and the surroundings of Kamenická and Riegrova streets, and from the left bank between Rozbělesy and Podmokly. Finds from the castle rock, from the Old Town and from Rozbělesy document Slavic settlement from the 7th century onwards. The first written mention of the Děčín province, which presupposes the existence of an administrative seat, dates from 993. The settlement arose at an old ford on the Elbe, across which a trade route ran.[1]
Castle and royal town
The Přemyslid stronghold on the castle rock was built as an administrative centre to guard the Elbe waterway. In the first half of the 13th century it was replaced by a stone castle. Below it, on the southern side of the castle rock on a low river terrace, Přemysl Otakar II founded the royal town of Děčín. Its coat of arms shows a silver royal lion with a shield. The domain administered from the castle passed gradually to the Markvartice family, who colonised this part of northern Bohemia.[1]
The family of Vartenberk made Děčín the administrative centre of its domain. In the first half of the 14th century destructive floods struck the royal town on the southern side of the castle rock several times, and the inhabitants moved to the northern side of the rock. There, on the higher terrace of the Elbe, the Vartenberks founded a subject town, which extended over the area of today's surroundings of Masarykovo náměstí. The name and coat of arms of the town passed to it, together with the privileges concerning Elbe trade, river transport and fishing.[1]
From the Middle Ages to the Thirty Years' War
In the first half of the 15th century the town was hit by fires several times, in connection with the Hussite campaigns and with the wars of the Vartenberks against the Lusatian League of Six Towns.[1] During the 16th and 17th centuries the domain changed owners several times. After the Vartenberks it was acquired by the Trčka of Lípa family, then by the Saxon Salhausen family and finally by the knights of Bünau.[1]
Under their rule the town developed rapidly thanks to Elbe trade, crafts and the right to hold annual markets. Craft guilds were formed, and the town operated a brickworks, a lime kiln and quarries. Shipyards, landing places and ferries owned by the town also contributed to the town treasury. The burghers of Děčín took part in trade with Saxony and in long-distance trade via Hamburg to other European countries. The places inside the walls that had been devastated by fires were built up again, and the town grew into suburbs.[1]
The development was halted by the uprising of the Estates and the Thirty Years' War, accompanied by re-Catholicisation. In 1628 the Bünaus had to sell the domain to the imperial colonel Kryštof Šimon of Thun. It remained in the possession of the Thun-Hohenstein family until 1918. According to the town, the Thirty Years' War, fires and plague epidemics turned a flourishing town into a small, insignificant market town.[1]
Further information on the history
The town's website offers a brief account of its history from the beginnings to the present, a historical guide and Děčín legends. According to the town, local history can also be learned at Děčín Castle, which is open all year round, and at the regional museum.[1]
Chronology
- — On 26 September 2026 a freight train wagon derailed in Děčín and traffic on the railway corridor towards the border was halted. → iROZHLAS iDNES.cz
Pages linking here
- Closure of the Liberecký tunel for maintenance (October 2026)
- Derailment of a freight train wagon in Děčín (26 September 2026)
- Liberecký tunel
- Ústí nad Labem Region