Liberec

The oldest known names of the city are German, Reychinberch (1352) and Reychmberg (1369), meaning "rich/resourceful mountain" (reicher Berg in modern German). It was also spelled Reichenberg (1385–1399) and Rychmberg (1410). The Czech equivalent originated as a distortion: Rychberk (1545), Libercum (1634), Liberk (1790), and finally Liberec (1845). In Czech, words starting with "R" were often dissimilated into "L". Since then, the city was known as Liberec in Czech and as Reichenberg in German.

In the 11th or 12th century, a settlement named Habersdorf, which was the predecessor of Liberec, was established on the trade route from Bohemia to Lusatia by Czech settlers and German colonizers. In the 13th century, a second settlement named Reichenberg was established near the first one. The two settlements later merged. The first written mention of Liberec under its German name Reichenberg is from 1352. Starting in 1278, the area was owned by the noble Bieberstein family. Reichenberg suffered from the passing through of troops during the Hussite Wars, then was burned down in 1469 during a battle with the army of King George of Poděbrady. After the Biebersteins died out, the Frýdlant estate, which included Reichenberg, was bought by the Redern family in 1558. …

Liberec is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of Prague. Most of the municipal territory lies in the Zittau Basin. In the northeast, the territory extends into the Jizera Mountains and to the eponymous protected landscape area. In the west, the territory extends into the Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge and includes the highest point of Liberec and of the entire Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge, the mountain Ještěd at 1,012 m (3,320 ft) above sea level. Liberec is situated on the Lusatian Neisse River. The largest body of water is Harcov Reservoir (also called Liberec Dam). The reservoir is located inside the built-up area on the Lusatian Neisse's tributary, the stream of Harcovský potok. Today it serves mainly as a recreational place for the residents of Liberec, but it was originally designed to protect the city from floods and as a water reservoir for industrial use. …

Mateřinka is a theatre festival held biennially in June. Since 2020 Liberec has hosted Anifilm, an annual international festival of animated films.

The largest employers with headquarters in Liberec and at least 1,000 employees are: The Liberec-Jablonec agglomeration was defined as a tool for drawing money from the European Structural and Investment Funds. It is an area that includes the cities of Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou and their surroundings, linked to the cities by commuting and migration. It has about 227,000 inhabitants.

The main landmark and one of the symbols of the city is the Ještěd Tower on the Ještěd mountain, which is used as a transmitter, observation tower and hotel. It was built in 1966–1973 according to the design by the architect Karel Hubáček. It is the most important monument in the city, protected as a national cultural monument since 2006. The building has won many architectural awards and a poll for the most important Czech building of the 20th century. Among the most valuable buildings of the city centre is the Liberec City Hall. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1888–1893, according to the design by Franz Neumann. It has three towers; the highest of them is 61 m (200 ft) high. In the summer season, the interiors and one of the towers are open to the public. Since 2024, it has been protected as a national cultural monument. …