Meziboří

Meziboří (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmɛzɪbor̝iː]; until 1957 Šenbach; German: Schönbach) is a town in Most District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,600 inhabitants. It was originally a small village, expanded in the 1950s to a town.

Meziboří
Town
A park in Meziboří
Flag Coat of arms
Meziboří Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°37′22″N 13°36′7″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Ústí nad Labem
District	Most
First mentioned	1398
Government
• Mayor	Petr Červenka
Area
• Total	14.36 km2 (5.54 sq mi)
Elevation	512 m (1,680 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	4,597
• Density	320/km2 (830/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	435 13
Website	www.mezibori.cz

Etymology

The initial German name Schönbach means 'beautiful stream'.^[2] The German name was Czechized as Šenbach.^[3] The modern name Meziboří means "the area between pine forests".

Geography

Meziboří is located about 12 kilometres (7 mi) north of Most. The entire municipal territory lies in the Ore Mountains. The highest point is the mountain Černý vrch at 889 m (2,917 ft) above sea level.

History

The first written mention of Šenbach is from 1398. For centuries, the inhabitants have subsisted on agriculture, especially the cultivation of rye, oats, potatoes, cattle grazing and forestry. It remained so even at the beginning of industrialization in the second half of the 19th century. The number of inhabitants in the surrounding villages, which depended on coal mining, increased, but in Šenbach the population did not change. Fields on mountain slopes surrounded by forests on all sides could not feed more people.^[4]

The development of Šenbach was determined by an organized recruitment program for apprentices for heavy industries, announced in 1949 by President Klement Gottwald. In September 1950, the first dormitory for 360 mining apprentices was opened, and in January 1951, a dormitory was opened for another 360 apprentices at the chemical school. In 1952, a girls' apprentice dormitory for miners and excavators was opened. At that time, the town's population reached two thousand. Between 1953 and 1968, a housing estate with fifteen hundred flats was being built. Most of the houses of the old village was demolished and only 11 are preserved to this day. In 1957, the town was renamed Meziboří.^[3]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 219 —     1880 232 +5.9% 1890 288 +24.1% 1900 304 +5.6% 1910 302 −0.7%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 298 −1.3% 1930 308 +3.4% 1950 235 −23.7% 1961 2,904 +1135.7% 1970 6,210 +113.8%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 5,588 −10.0% 1991 5,158 −7.7% 2001 4,969 −3.7% 2011 4,703 −5.4% 2021 4,669 −0.7%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Transport

Town hall

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sport

In Meziboří is a ski resport, operated by the town.^[7]

Sights

There are no protected cultural monuments in the town.^[8]

Notable people

• Štěpán Chaloupek (born 2003), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Meziboří is twinned with:^[9]

• Sayda, Germany
• Sogliano al Rubicone, Italy