Today, the North Bohemian town Ústí nad Labem, together with the adjoining localities, has approximately 96,000 inhabitants.

Lignite surface mining and the chemical industry have given the town its character in the past 100 years. The townscape is characterised by the course of the river Elbe.

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem is situated in North Bohemia in the region of "Ústecký kraj", in the picturesque valley of the river Elbe, between the Erzgebirge (Ore mountains) and the Bohemian low mountain range.

Ústí nad Labem is located about 120 km south-east of Chemnitz, 75 km south of Dresden and 92 km north of Prague.

Ústí nad Labem is the ninth-largest Czech town with about 96,000 inhabitants (2005).

Its lignite surface mining, chemical industry, power stations and the food industry are significant for the industrial town. At the same time, Ústí is also an important European business centre and transportation hub (rail, road and water transport) as well as the administrative centre of North Bohemia.
Nature

Owing to the location of the town in the Elbe valley in the low mountain range, many natural sights can be found in this region. The town itself is situated in the landscape conservation area (LCA) of the Bohemian low mountain range ("Ceské stredohorí") close to the LCA Elbe Sandstone mountains ("Labské pískovce") and the nature reserve East Erzgebirge (Ore mountains - "Východní Krusné hory").

The most significant natural sight in the town - the natural landmark/monument Vrkoc - is situated 250m above sea level. "Vrkoc" is an exposed basalt reef which was called "Vrkoc" (head of hair) owing to the similarity with human hair.

Close by, in the stream course of the Podlešínský potok, there is a 12 m high waterfall - the highest in the Bohemian low mountain range. A marked hiking trail leads there from Vanov.

The town has two significant items which shape the landscape:

The Virgin Mary's Rock ("Mariánská skála") is a significant dominant element of the town, a high phonolite massif. It is particularly beautiful in spring when it is covered with yellow alyssum bushes.

The headwaters on the Na Louži street - with many protected species of plant.

Transportation

Road traffic: The town is connected to the international road E 442 (Liberec, Decín, Ústí, Dresden) and the roads I/8, I/30 and I/13.

There is a direct connection to the D8 motorway (Berlin - Prague), which passes through the western outskirts.
Rail traffic: Ústí nad Labem is an important railway junction with four train stations which join the important international routes of Berlin - Vienna and Berlin-Budapest-Beograd-Sofia (Balt-Orient). International transportation is based on the railway line No 090 which runs through the entire territory - the international transit railway corridor of the northern country border via Decín, Ústí nad Labem, Prague and Breclav to the southern border of the country which constitutes a part of the IV transeuropean multimodal corridor.
Shipping: The Elbe strait acts as a connection to the network of the West European waterways which enable access to Germany, Benelux, Northern France and important ports.
Short distance public transport: There is a bus network in the town.

Education

There is a close network of schools and pre-schools in the town. Within the structure of the national school system there are also schools of music and arts. In Ústí nad Labem you can choose between 21 national and independent vocational colleges and colleges of further education as well as grammar schools which prepare their students either directly for professional life or for further study at various colleges and universities.

The Jan Evangelista Purkyne University (UJEP) is located in the town with five faculties and three institutes:

• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Social and Economic Studies
• Faculty of Environmental studies
• Faculty of Natural Sciences
• Faculty of Art and Design
• Institute of Human Studies
• Institute of Technology and Production Management
• Institute of Health studies

Sights and tourist destinations

Velké Brezno chateau

From 1842-1845 Count Karel Chotek, the supreme burgrave of the Bohemian kingdom, who was credited for playing a decisive role in the economic development of Bohemia, had the chateau constructed in the late Empire style. Around 1900 the chateau was rebuilt in the New Renaissance style. An English garden which includes 130 rare bushes and trees extends all around the chateau. The present interior decoration originates from the original furnishing of the Chotek family. Regular chamber concerts take place in the chateau along with seasonal exhibitions and even weddings in the ceremonial hall.

Trmice chateau

The chateau was constructed from 1856-1863 in the Tudor Gothic style of the prominent Bohemian Nostitz family in the middle of a grand chateau park. In 1994 the premises were reconstructed and are used today as a representative culture centre with a ceremony room and a marble concert hall. In some rooms there is a permanent exhibition on the history of the regional industry including a permanent exposition of model railways.

Zoological garden

The zoological garden in Ústí nad Labem was established in 1908. It has an area of 30 hectares. Many exotic animal species can be seen here. The zoological garden in Ústí nad Labem offers its visitors not only classical sightseeing but also special guided tours and presentations in which the natural abilities of the animals are presented.

Museum of Folk Architecture Zubrnice

In the Museum of Folk Architecture in Zubrnice the buildings and their facilities are preserved, which helps documenting the traditional country ways of living in the Bohemian low mountain range. It is the smallest open-air museum in Bohemia. The complex of a block house farmstead with internal and external construction including a unique warm-air fruit-drying system has been made accessible to the public. An old village shop and the village school can also be visited. In the middle of the village square there is a baroque wooden well dating from 1695 which has been brought here from the village Strížovice at Ústí nad Labem.

Tisá

The community of Tisá (Tyssa) is the gateway to the romantic countryside of the Elbe sandstone mountains. In the centre of the village the Late Baroque church of St Ann's is situated. From here a direct route leads to the Tisa walls. A fantastic rock world can be seen here with many bizarre sandstone formations. One piece, for instance, is the so-called Napoleon's shoe. The name commemorates the time of the Napoleonic wars. Legend has it that at that time a treasure was hidden in these rocks, the treasure of the French corps beaten on 30 August 1813 at Chlumec.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, access to the rocks without a tourist guide was not permitted. Today the entire area is a paradise for mountain climbers because there are 113 registered climbing walls available. Besides the small and large walls situated in a northerly direction from Tisa, there are two lesser visited rock regions - the Ostrov rocks and the Rájec rocks (Ostrovské skály and Rájecké skály).

Telnice

Since the 14th century Telnice and the Erzgebirge (Ore mountain) region have been connected with the obtaining and processing of ore. Ore mining only finally ended in the 19th century but left behind many traces in the landscape, such as, for example, old tunnels. In the past Telnice, together with Varvažov, was located on an important route which led from Bohemia via the pass at Naklérov to Saxony. The building of the old post office in Varvažov, which is today assigned to the district of Telnice, originates from the beginning of the 19th century.

The deeply carved valley of Telnice leads past the Neo-Gothic chapel from 1910 to the winter sport centre Zadní Telnice. The tradition of ski sports has been cultivated here since the beginning of the 20th century. As early as 1912 Telnice was connected to Ústí nad Labem by a tram line and can be reached today by car or bus. Now, as then, Telnice is among the most popular resorts of the inhabitants of Ústí.