Terezín (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. The town is located on the Ohře River, in the Lower Ohře Table.

Founded in 1780, Terezín is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town. The town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. Terezín is infamously known as the location of the Nazis' Theresienstadt Ghetto.

Administrative division

Terezín consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):

  • Terezín (1,875)
  • České Kopisty (551)
  • Nové Kopisty (397)
  • Počaply (139)

Etymology

The fortress town was named after Empress Maria Theresa ().

Geography

thumb|Havlíčkova Street

Terezín is located about south of Litoměřice and southeast of Ústí nad Labem. It lies in a flat landscape of the Lower Ohře Table. It is situated on both banks of the Ohře River, near its confluence with the Elbe. The Elbe forms the northern municipal border.

History

thumb|Terezín map (1790); north on the right

On 10 January 1780, Habsburg Emperor Joseph II ordered the erection of the fortress, named after his mother Empress Maria Theresa. In the times of Austria–Prussia rivalry, it was meant to secure the bridges across the Ohře and Elbe rivers against Prussian troops invading the Bohemian lands from neighbouring Saxony. Simultaneously, Josefov Fortress () was erected near Jaroměř as a protection against Prussian attacks. The fortress consisted of a citadel, the "Small Fortress", to the east of the Ohře, and a walled town, the "Main Fortress", to the west. The total area of the fortress was . In peacetime it held 5,655 soldiers, and in wartime around 11,000 soldiers could be placed here. Trenches and low-lying areas around the fortress could be flooded for defensive purposes. Garrison church in the Main Fortress was designed by Heinrich Hatzinger, Julius D'Andreis and Franz Joseph Fohmann.

The fortress was never under direct siege. During the Austro-Prussian War, on 28 July 1866, part of the garrison attacked and destroyed an important railway bridge near Neratovice (rail line Turnov–Kralupy nad Vltavou) that was shortly before repaired by the Prussians. This attack occurred two days after Austria and Prussia had agreed to make peace, but the Theresienstadt garrison was ignorant of the news.

During the second half of the 19th century, the fortress was also used as a prison. During World War I, the fortress was used as a political prison camp. Soldiers and civilians who showed opposition to the war were imprisoned here.

Although it was not an extermination camp, about 33,000 died in the ghetto. This was mostly due to the appalling conditions arising out of extreme population density, malnutrition and disease. About 88,000 inhabitants were deported to Auschwitz and the other extermination camps. As late as the end of 1944, the Germans were still deporting Jews to the death camps. At the end of the war, there were 17,247 survivors of Theresienstadt (including some who had survived the death camps).

Modern history

thumb|Town hall on the town square

After the related war uses, the government retained a military garrison until 1996.

The town was struck by the 2002 European floods during which the crematorium was damaged. According to the Fund, a long-term conservation plan was conceived, which includes further repairs, documentation, and archaeological research.

Demographics

Economy

thumb|National Cemetery

Terezín is mainly dependent on tourism. With almost 260 thousand visitors, Terezín Memorial was the second most visited tourist destination of the Ústí nad Labem Region and the most visited memorial place in the country in 2024.

Transport

The I/15 road from Most to Litoměřice runs next to the town. Terezín is served by the train stations in neighbouring Bohušovice nad Ohří and Litoměřice.

Sights

thumb|Former Magdeburg Barracks

thumb|Town fortifications

Terezín Fortress

Terezín Fortress is one of the most visited memorial sites in Central Europe. In 2002, the fortress, which was in a deteriorated condition, was listed in the 2002 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. The organization called for a comprehensive conservation plan, while providing funding for emergency repairs from American Express. A conservation plan was eventually developed in cooperation with national authorities.

  • Small Fortress;
  • Ghetto Museum;
  • National Cemetery;
  • Memorial on the bank of the Ohře River;
  • Park of the Terezín Children;
  • Former Magdeburg Barracks;
  • Jewish Prayer Room;
  • Railway siding;
  • Columbarium;
  • Ceremonial Halls and the Central Morgue of the Ghetto;
  • Jewish Cemetery and the Crematorium;
  • Cemetery of Soviet soldiers.

Other museums inside the fortress, all located in the Cavalier 2 complex, include Cavalier 2 Museum with an exhibition of lives of soldiers in the 18th century; La Grace Museum; Museum of Nostalgia with an exhibition of items from the socialist era of the country; and Geocaching Museum.

Other sights

thumb|Church of Saint Adalbert in Počaply

The Church of the Resurrection of Christ was built in the Empire style in 1805–1810. With its tall tower, it belongs among the main landmarks of the town. It is a very valuable example of a sacral building in the Czech Republic in this style.

The Church of Saint Adalbert is located in the village of Počaply. It was built in the Baroque style in 1724–1726 by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer.

Notable people

  • Agnese Schebest (1813–1870), Austrian opera singer
  • Anton Leo Hickmann (1834–1906), Austrian geographer and statistician
  • Olga Fialka (1848–1930), Austrian-Czech artist
  • Pauline Metzler-Löwy (1853–1921), Austrian opera singer
  • Zdenko Hudeček (1887–1974), Czech-Austrian military officer
  • Gavrilo Princip (1894–1918), the assassin of Franz Ferdinand; died here in imprisonment
  • Maria Müller (1898–1958), Czech-Austrian operatic singer
  • Helmut Zborowski (1905–1969), Austrian aircraft designer

Twin towns – sister cities

Terezín is twinned with:

  • Dębno, Poland
  • Komárno, Slovakia
  • Strausberg, Germany

References

  • Official tourist portal
  • Fortress details
  • Terezín Memorial