The Region of the Ústí-County - Introduction

The region of Northern Bohemia between Decin and Karlovy Vary - with its Cistercian monastery as a historical spiritual center - represents a highly devastated area in this post-socialism time.
Coal mining and the chemical industry as well as the ideologically driven policies since the post-war period of the forties has left a highly neglected territory.

Irrespective of this difficult legacy, one can discover the high potential of this part of Northern Bohemia: The membership in the European Union offers new economic opportunities as well as the chance for a cross border cooperation of Czechs and Germans. Furthermore, the expected recultivation of mining areas opens space for an alternative usage.

One has also to consider the long history of this part of Bohemia and the short distances to Prague or Dresden which is a solid basis for a touristic and cultural development.

This pages introduce some sites or places from which the writer thought they could be interesting for the visitor. It is not a description of tourist attractions but rather the relation between the towns and personalities who stayed and acted there. Since this area was mainly settled by Germans and dominated by German-speaking artists, writer etc. all towns and villages are cited in their two names: the Czech and the German.

It might be a little help for those readers who want to get deeper in the history. The cities like Ústi nad Labem or Decin have their own websites where you may find more information in about tourist attractions. All offer an English version.