Žamberk (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,800 inhabitants. The town is located on the Divoká Orlice River in the Orlické Foothills. It is known as the birthplace of the inventor Prokop Diviš.
Žamberk was founded in the second half of the 13th century. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. The main landmark of the town is the Žamberk Castle.
Etymology The initial German name of the settlement was Senftenberg. It was created from the German word berg ('hill') and the Middle High German word senfte ('gentle', 'soft'). The Czech name was created by transcription of the German name.
Geography Žamberk is located about northeast of Ústí nad Orlicí and east of Pardubice. It lies in the Orlické Foothills. The highest point is the hill Hůrka at above sea level. The Divoká Orlice River flows through the town.
Climate Žamberk's climate is classified as humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb; Trewartha: Dcbo). Among them, the annual average temperature is , the hottest month in July is , and the coldest month is in January. The annual precipitation is , of which July is the wettest with , while April is the driest with only . The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from on 28 January 1942 to on 7 August 2015.
History
Žamberk was founded in the second half of the 13th century, during the colonisation of this region. Its predecessor was a Slavic settlement on a trade route from Moravia to Kłodzko Land. The first written mention of Žamberk is from 1332, under its German name Senftenberg. Soon after, the Czech name began to be used, which testifies to the majority of the Czech population.
In the middle of the 14th century, Žamberk was divided between the estates of Litice and Žampach with different owners. As a part of the Litice estate, it was owned by the Pernštejn family and Ernest of Bavaria. In 1563, it was acquired by Mikuláš Bubna of Litice. In 1575, he bought the second part of Žamberk and merged the two parts. In 1575–1600, he had built a castle here and since then it was known as the Žamberk estate. The Bubna of Litice family owned the estate until 1809.
Demographics
Economy
The largest industrial employer based in the town is Bühler CZ, a manufacturer of food processing machines with more than 250 employees.
Transport The I/11 road from Hradec Králové to Šumperk runs through the town.
The railway station named Žamberk, which serves the town, is located in the territory of the neighbouring Dlouhoňovice. It lies on the railway line heading from Hradec Králové to Letohrad.
Sights
The historic centre is formed by the square Masarykovo náměstí and adjacent streets. The main landmark of the square is the town hall. It is a Neoclassical building from 1810. In the middle of the square are a Marian column from the late 17th century and a fountain with sculptures of a nymph and a centaur.
The Church of Saint Wencleslaus is the highest building in the town. Its existence was first mentioned in 1348.
The Žamberk Castle is a Renaissance building that includes the Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and a castle park, probably founded in the 19th century. The castle is inaccessible to the public.
The Jewish cemetery was established in around 1700 and today there is a small exposition on Jewish population in the town.
Notable people Prokop Diviš (1698–1765), inventor and Catholic priest Theodor Brorsen (1819–1895), Danish astronomer and botanist; worked here Eduard Albert (1841–1900), Austrian surgeon, professor and historian Václav F. Kumpošt (1846–1874), journalist and writer August Seydler (1849–1891), astronomer, theoretical physicist and professor Jan Vilímek (1860–1938), illustrator and painter Josef Ježek (1884–1969), politician Oldřich Marek (1911–1986), entomologist and teacher; worked here Petr Eben (1929–2007), composer
Twin towns – sister cities
Žamberk is twinned with:
Fresagrandinaria, Italy Nowa Sól, Poland Püttlingen, Germany Rice Lake, United States Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, France Senftenberg, Germany Senftenberg, Austria Veszprém, Hungary
Žamberk also has friendly relations with Miharu in Japan.
References
External links