Horní Jiřetín

Horní Jiřetín
Horní Jiřetín
Town
	Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary
	Flag Coat of arms
	Horní Jiřetín Location in the Czech Republic
	Coordinates: 50°34′30″N 13°32′43″E / 50.57500°N 13.54528°E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Ústí nad Labem
District	Most
Founded	1263
Government
• Mayor	Vladimír Buřt
Area
• Total	39.85 km2 (15.39 sq mi)
Elevation	280 m (920 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	1,917
• Density	48/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	435 43
Website	www.hornijiretin.cz

Horní Jiřetín (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦorɲiː jɪr̝ɛciːn]; German: Obergeorgenthal) is a Czech town with 2 183 inhabitants in Most District, in the Ústí nad Labem Region in the foothills of the Ore Mountains on the border with Germany.

Geography

Horní Jiřetín is located approximately 8 km away from Most, 10 km from Litvínov, 40 km from Ústí nad Labem and 90 km from the Czech capital of Prague.

History

The first documented reference to this municipality is from 1263 when the village Jorenthal is mentioned as being on the road to Saxony. At the time, the village was mainly governed by the Duchcov-based Lobkowicz family. In the 16th century, iron ore was discovered nearby at Červená Jáma. At the end of the 17th century, the village was hit by the bubonic plague and at the end of the 18th, it suffered from a steep financial decline due to war.

After World War II the local German population was expelled.

In 2015, the nearby ČSA surface mining operation requested breaking the mining limits imposed on them. This would lead to the demolition of various towns in the region, including Horní Jiřetín.