Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic

Submitted by Marianne Meese

My cousin (my grandmother’s sister’s granddaughter) grew up in Ústí nad Labem and I was able to visit and stay in her childhood home in 2021. Her grandmother moved to Ústí nad Labem from Moravia, when Ústí was growing and offering many job opportunities. It has been an important industrialized area since the 19th century.

Ústí nad Labem is a statutory city (a statutory city (Czech: statutární město) is a municipal corporation that has been granted city status by Act of Parliament) in North Bohemia, the center of the Ústecký Region, located at the convergence of the Elbe and Bílina rivers between the Bohemian Central Mountains and the Ore Mountains. It has a population of about 90,000. The city is a university center with an industrial tradition and an important railway and road junction, 90 km northwest of Prague, 180 km northeast of Plzeň, 130 km east of Karlovy Vary, 95 km southwest of Liberec, and 65 km southeast of Dresden. The city’s name is probably derived from the Old Czech word *ustie*, and in German it is known as Aussig an der Elbe. Historically, the city was predominantly German-speaking. It was founded by German colonists in the 13th century and granted town privileges by Přemysl Otakar II. It developed thanks to the railway and river transport, as well as industry and coal mining. The Protected Landscape Area of České středohoří and several smaller protected areas are located in the vicinity of the city.

Ústí nad Labem has an interesting architectural heritage and many villas were constructed by famous industrialists. In the late 19th century, the provincial Bohemian royal town transformed into the leading industrial metropolis of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Its new status was reflected in the growing number of factory halls and tall factory stacks in the city panorama. The slopes around the town became a place where ostentatious mansions of local entrepreneurs and businessmen were built. Such concentration of luxury strongly contrasted with the grimy industrial architecture. The new leading businessmen wished to live like aristocrats and had their houses built as lordly mansions. The Ústí elite had their villas designed by the most renowned architects of that time. Viennese designers were particularly popular. Many of the villas still retain their former elegance and document the social status, lifestyle and tastes of their owners. Below are some examples.

Interesting note: Some of the streets in Ústí nad Labem are named after WWII Allied leaders and figures to honor the Western Allies and commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany after the fall of the communist regime. Following World War II and later after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, Czech municipalities purged totalitarian or fascist street names and replaced them with figures tied to national liberation, democracy, and anti-fascist resistance. During the communist era (1948–1989), official street naming in Czechoslovakia heavily favored Soviet or communist figures, while Western Allied leaders (like Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, or Dwight D. Eisenhower) were largely excluded or scrubbed. After the
Velvet Revolution, cities like Ústí nad Labem restored or introduced names recognizing Western WWII statesmen and democratic allies—such as naming central boulevards after leaders like Winston Churchill—to anchor the city in Western democratic history.

• Winston Churchill (Winstona Churchilla): This street explicitly honors Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister who stood as a primary leader of the Western Allies during World War II.
• Washingtonova (Washington Street): Located in the city, this street is named after George Washington, the first President of the United States and a foundational symbol of Western democratic governance.
• Masarykova :The main artery extending from the city center, named after Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the philosopher-statesman and the first President of Czechoslovakia.
• Londýnská (London Street): Named after the capital of the United Kingdom, representing one of the major pillars of Western European society and a crucial wartime hub for the Czechoslovak government-in-exile.
• Pařížská (Paris Street): Named after the capital of France, honoring a cornerstone society of Western European culture, philosophy, and political history.