"Usti nad Labem" a Usti nad Labem Travel Page by Amazonka

The church was built around 1318. During the Hussite wars the tower and the triple nave were destroyed. A renovation began after the year 1452. In the 80s of the 19th century the church was reconstructed in Late-Gothic style. The bomb raids in April 1945 caused serious damage to the foundations of the tower so that it is now tilted from the true vertical axis by almost 2 meters. The dominant of the church is the altar with a glass foot, a piece of modern 20th century art.

The adapted castle ruins form a distinct dominant in the south of the city over the right bank of the Elbe river. The ruins are placed on 100 m high clinkstone rock. The castle was founded in 1318 to protect the local trade route. The Romantic appearance of the castle ruins attracted many outstanding personalities (e.g. painter Adrian Ludwig Richter, Ernst Gustav Doerel, composer Richard Wagner, poet Karel Hynek Macha). In 1923-1936 the Masaryk flood gate with a ship lock and a power station was constructed below the castle on the river Labe. An exhibition of the history of the castle and the region can be visited in the castle palace. Visitors of the restau-rant terrace have an exquisite view of the city and of the Elbe valley. After 1989 the castle was restituted to the Lobkowicz family.

The Neo-Renaissance chateau of Velke Brezno was reconstructed in 1885-1910 by architect Ernest Fleicher of Dresden. It is connected with the life and activity of Karel Chotek, an important politician of the 19th century, and with Sophia Chotkova, the wife of Franz Ferdinand d'Este, successor of the Austrian throne, with whom she was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. The chateau of Velke Brezno was built in the late Empire style by Count Karel Chotek in 1842-1845. Count Chotek, the supreme burgrave of the Czech Kingdom, contributed to the development of Bohemia. Around 1900, the chateau was reconstructed in Neo-Renaissance style. The chateau is surrounded by a landscape park with 130 species of precious trees and bushes. The current installation of the chateau's interior is original and illustrates the activities of the Choteks. Sophia Chotek, the wife of Franz Ferdinand d'Este, the successor of the Austrian throne, with whom she was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, came from this family. There are concerts, seasonal exhibitions and also wedding ceremonials arranged in the chateau on a regular basis.