Bozkov is a municipality and village in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. It is known for the Bozkovské Dolomite Caves.
Bozkov | |
|---|---|
 View from the church | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Bozkov Location in the Czech Republic | |
| Coordinates: 50°38′24″N 15°20′14″E / 50.64000°N 15.33722°E | |
| Country |  Czech Republic |
| Region | Liberec |
| District | Semily |
| First mentioned | 1356 |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.81 km2 (2.63 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 488 m (1,601 ft) |
| Population (2024-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 590 |
| • Density | 87/km2 (220/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 512 13 |
| Website | www |
Etymology
editThe village was probably originally called Boskov and the name was derived from the personal name Bosek, meaning "Bosek's (court)". Probably due to a clerical error, the name was corrupted to Bozkov.[2]
Geography
editBozkov is located about 4 kilometres (2 mi) north of Semily and 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Liberec. It lies in a hilly landscape of the Giant Mountains Foothills. The highest point is the hill Na Končinách at 524 m (1,719 ft) above sea level. The Kamenice River flows along the western municipal border.
History
editThe first written mention of Bozkov is from 1356. The most notable owners of Bozkov were the Smiřičký of Smiřice family (in the 16th century), Albrecht von Wallenstein (in 1622–1634), the Desfours family (in 1635–1748), and the Caretto-Millesimo family (in 1748–1824). In 1923, Bozkov was promoted to a market town, but lost the title after World War II.[3]
Demographics
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| Source: Censuses[4][5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transport
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The municipality is briefly crossed by the railway line Železný Brod–Tanvald, but there is no train station.
Sights
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Bozkov is known for the Bozkovské Dolomite Caves. They were formed due to a strong corrosive activity of the underground water in the lentil of calcareous metamorphosed dolomites, in some parts strongly silificated. Since 1999, they have been protected as a national nature monument. Their lower parts are permanently flooded and form the largest underground lake in Bohemia. The known spaces are 1,060 metres (3,480 ft) long and they are the longest dolomite caves in the country. A 350 metres (1,150 ft) long route is open to the public and annually visited by about 70,000 visitors.[6]
The most valuable building in Bozkov is the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. It was built in 1697 and contains a rare Gothic sculpture of the Madonna, locally called "Queen of the Mountains". The church tower is 49 metres (161 ft) high and is open to the public as a lookout tower.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024". Czech Statistical Office. 2024-05-17.
- ^ Profous, Antonín (1947). Místní jména v Čechách I: A–H (in Czech). pp. 151–152.
- ^ "Historie obce" (in Czech). Obec Bozkov. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
- ^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21.
- ^ "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
- ^ "Bozkovské Dolomite Caves: Characteristics". Cave Administration of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ^ "Kostel Navštívení Panny Marie Bozkov" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
External links
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