The Environment Jilemnice

Jilemnice is an economic and cultural center for the western Krkonose. It is one of the cradles of Czech tourism and skiing. It is situated on the border line of the Krkonose Mts. and foothills.

Therefore it is a suitable starting point for exploring of both of these areas. It lies in a shallow basin along the Jilemnice creek and the neighborhood of Hrabacov, in the valley of the Jizerka river. Kozinec hill rises above the town (561 m), with a partial viewpoint.

Jilemnice was established sometime around the beginning of the 14th century. Its history is tied together with the noble clans of the Waldsteins (in the beginning it was a base for the Stepanice castle) and the Harrachs (the town was the center of their Dominion of Horni Branna and Jilemnice).

Jilemnice was the victim of a number of catastrophes. In 1646 it was burned down and devastated by the Swedish army, and in the great fires of 1788, 1803 and 1838 most of the wooden structures were completely destroyed.

There are still several architectural sights in the town, such as the Baroque church of St. Lawrence (1729-1736); the town hall with arcades, tower and a clock that strikes every quarter of an hour. The town also boasts a pseudo-Renaissance castle, rebuilt into todays style in 1892, an Empire fountain in the square built in 1836, a sculptural group of St Barbara, andMary Magdalene by Matthias Braun and a somewhat newer group of the Christ on a cross, St Lawrence and St John Nepomucky.

Out of the newer structures, there is an interesting late 19th century decorative style building now holding the Sporitelna Savings bank in the corner of the square. Old timbered houses have been preserved on the charming Zvedava ulicka (Curious Street), scattered around, and can even be found in the surrounding villages (Hrabacov).

The castle is a site of the Krokonose Museum with an exhibit on the development of skiing in Bohemia, natural history collections, and unique collection of Scenes of Navity. Jilemnice is the birth place of famous personalities, such as the geologist Fr. Posepny, and writers Jar. Havlicek and Jan Weiss.

To Talk of tourism and sports without mentioning Jilemnice is unthinkable. The Jilemnice ski team was established in 1894 as the second in Bohemia after Prague.
There are special sports oriented classes at local schools. They specialize in classical (cross-country) skiing. There is a public 25 m swimming pool in the town too.

There is a relatively good bus connection with Prague and other cities on one hand, and on the other a good number of more local buses to other sports and tourist centers (Benecko, Vrchlabi and Misecky) that depart from here. There is a local railroad connection for the Martinice-Rokytnice line (No 042) in Jilemnice. It is connected (via Stara Paka) with Prague, Brno, and Liberec. Highways 293 from Prague and Hradec Kralove, and 14 (an important junction in Hrabacov) from Liberec. Nachod and Trutnov also pass through here.