Svoboda nad Úpou
Template:Geobox Svoboda nad Úpou (German: Freiheit an der Aupa) is a town in the Czech Republic. It has a population of 2,082 and lies in the Krkonoše in the valley of the Úpa River.
Based on the chronicle of Simon Hüttel from Trutnov, Svoboda nad Úpou was founded in 1009. The first historic record dates from 1533. In 1546 Svoboda nad Úpou was granted the status of market town by Emperor Ferdinand I., receiving many privileges of a mining town. In 1580 Svoboda nad Úpou was made into a town by Emperor Rudolf II. Later the mining stopped in the area, but in Svoboda nad Úpou became an important industrial town when paper mills were built in the 19th century. In 1871 railway was brought here. From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland.
Famous people
- Prosper Piette de Rivage (1846–1928) – nobleman and enterpreneur, founder of paper industry in Svoboda nad Úpou and a great promoter of tourism in Krkonoše.
Sights
- Church of Saint John of Nepomuk – church in late Baroque style, built in 1777
- Sculpture of Virgin Mary, St Florian and St Anthony – from the beginning of the 18th century
- Classicist houses and folk wooden architecture
- Church of Saint Joseph – built in 1930
- Bear Cave – a cave discovered in the 19th century, palaeontological site, inaccessible to the public
External links
Media related to Svoboda nad Úpou at Wikimedia Commons- Municipal website
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