Česká Lípa

The origins of the town of Česká Lípa date approximately from the third quarter of the 13th century. At that time, the developing older Slavic settlement round the water castle of Lipý began its transformation into a town. However, the first express evidence of the existence of the town goes back only to 1337. Dating back to 1388, the oldest evidence of the big town seal shows symbols of a walled town as well as the coat of arms of its founders and holders, the Ronovecs – two crossed knotty branches. The coat of arms, carved in stone, is also displayed for example on the Berka portal which is today placed on the outside wall of the monastery cloister.

The position of the town on an important merchant way incessantly supported development of craft production (potters, weavers, cloth makers, later pewterers) which led to foundation of extraordinarily developed suburbs with their own churches around the inner city within the still noticeable belt of walls. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross east of the historic town and the Church of Saint Mary Magdalen in the southern potters’ suburb have been preserved to the present day. The Church of the Birth of Virgin Mary which has stayed in the northern Marian suburb since the 14th century was rebuilt in the Baroque style. "

Up to the modern times, Česká Lípa belonged among the biggest servile centres in Bohemia and as early as in the 14th century the town was endowed with regal-town privileges (self-rule privilege, mile privilege, beer-brewing privilege, market privilege, right of free passage, right to built town walls). When obtaining and extending its privileges and rights, the town benefited from the prestigious status of its manorial nobility – initially lords of Lipé, then the Berkas of Dubá and of Lipé. However, the rapid development of the town was interrupted by the Hussite Revolution. Like majority of the North Bohemian nobility, the lord of the town’s goods Hynek Hlaváč was on the pro-Hussite side, therefore the town was seized by the troops of Jan Roháč of Dubá in 1426. Afterwards, Česká Lípa become the northernmost member of the Taborite town union. Damage suffered during the Hussite wars but especially during the subsequent so-called Lužice wars were smoothed out gradually in the second half of the 15th century. Some town houses were renovated and their gothic parts, particularly cellars, have been preserved to the present day. The castle was rebuilt into a comfortable chateau, initially in the late-Gothic, then in the Renaissance styles. Nearby the castle, a Renaissance summerhouse called the Red House was built in 1583. However, at that time the Berkas shared their dominance over the town and the chateau with the Vartemberks.

After the defeat of the Czech estates whose anti-Habsburg rebellion in 1618–1620 was joined by the local protestant nobility, the confiscated land fell into the domain of Albrecht of Wallenstein. His short reign over the town was marked with foundation of the Augustine monastery with a Latin school, subsequently turned into a gymnasium. After his assassination, the Kounics took hold of the town and of the chateau domain through marriage with Wallenstein’s daughter. They held Česká Lípa until the abolition of serfdom in 1848. The last town’s nobility is commemorated by the stone coat of arms of the Kounics on the Kounic house at the corner of Zámecká and Berkova streets. After the Thirty Years’ War, the look of the town was enhanced by Baroque reconstructions, new buildings and sculptural works, represented by the Plague Column in the square. It serves as a reminder not only of the plague epidemic in 1680 but also of the related serf uprising whose several leaders were executed in the square. In the 18th century, Česká Lípa still belonged among the biggest towns in Bohemia and was on of the first favouring manufactory enterprise. The town was particularly famous, both at home and abroad, for its cotton print works – cloth printing manufactories.

Big fires in 1787 and especially in 1820, when more than 500 houses and 6 manufactories were burnt to ashes within less than four hours, destroyed most of historic housing, in those days partly wooden. New houses were built solely of bricks, in the Empire and Biedermaier styles. After the half of the 19th century the popularity of cotton print decreased and Česká Lípa witnessed commencement of history of new industries, such as leather manufacture, food processing and distilling industries, production of pianos etc. The second half of the 19th century, bringing development of political, social and cultural life, was marked with construction of many public building in the style of Historicism, at the turn of the century in the Art Nouveau style. Simultaneously, the national consciousness of the Czech minority was rising and the first Czech associations were founded, struggling for establishment of a Czech school for their children – vainly until the disintegration of the Habsburg monarchy.

At the time of the First Republic, the Czech minority in the town strengthen, especially with the arrival of public servants, to some 3000 persons. After the advent of fascism Česká Lípa become one of the places with the most prominent activity of Henlein’s Sudetendeutsche Partei. In October 1934, the first Henleinian rally took place in Česká Lípa, attended by some 24 000 Nazis from all of the Northern borderland. After the Munich Agreement, the town was, as a part of Sudetenland, seized by the German army. The year 1938 brought an end to the promising development of the town and local factories focused on war production in the following years.

After the Liberation, on May 9th, 1945, most inhabitants, who had left in the autumn 1938, returned to Česká Lípa. The consequences of bombing were eliminated and factories returned to peace production. The following four decades brought about considerable increase in the number of inhabitants and enlargement of the town in connection with uranium mining. The number of inhabitants reached 40 000 in 1992. The belt of stereotyped concrete-block housing estates, growing around the town in 1970s and 1980s, changed its face for ever. The concrete blocks even approached insensitively the historic centre whose look was neglected and whose further existence was saved only with difficulties. The historic centre was declared an urban conservation area and its deserved renewal has been under way since early 1990s.