Žatec

Žatec (IPA2|ˈʒatɛts; _de. Saaz) is an old town in the Czech Republic, in the Ústí nad Labem Region. It has a population of 19,813 (2006).

The earliest historical reference to "Sacz" is in the Latin chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg of 1004. During the 11th century it belonged to the Vršovci - a powerful Czech aristocratic family. A coat-of-arms was given to the inhabitants by Vladislav II for their courage during the storming of Milan, and the place is mentioned as a royal town under Ottokar II. From the outbreak of the Hussite Wars to the Thirty Years' War, the town was Hussite or Protestant, but after the Battle of White Mountain (1620) the greater part of the Czech inhabitants left the town, which remained German and Roman Catholic until 1945, when the Germans were expelled.

Žatec lies on the Ohře River (Eger), which is spanned here by a suspension bridge, 210 ft. long, which is the oldest of its kind in Bohemia, having been constructed in 1826. It possesses several ancient churches, of which one is said to date from 1206, and a town hall built in 1559.

Saaz became famous for an an over-700-year-long tradition of growing noble Hops used by several breweries. Žatec produces its own beer and hosts 'Dočesná', its (hops related) harvest festival every year on the town square.

People

* Leo Baerwald (September 20, 1883, Saaz, Bohemia - April 8, 1970, New York), rabbi
* Eugen Gura
* Petr Kotvald, pop-music singer
* Jan Svěrák
* Johannes von Tepl

External links

* [http://www.mesto-zatec.cz/mes.phtml?kat=english Official website]
* [http://www.saaz.info/ Friends of Saaz/ Žatec (in German and English)]
* [http://www.zatecbeer.com.au/ Australia homepage for Zatecky Pivovar (beer)]