Žamberk

Žamberk (Senftenberg) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Geography
Žamberk is located about 13 km northeast of Ústí nad Orlicí and 49 km east of Pardubice. It lies in the Orlické Foothills. The highest point is the hill Hůrka at 516 m above sea level. The Divoká Orlice River flows through the town.

History
Žamberk was founded in the second half of the 13th century, during the colonization of this region. Its predecessor was a Slavic settlement on a trade route from Moravia to Kłodzko Land. The first written mention of Žamberk is from 1332, under its German name Senftenberg. Soon after, the Czech name began to be used, which testifies to the majority of the Czech population.

In the middle of the 14th century, Žamberk was divided between the estates of Litice and Žampach with different owners. As a part of the Litice estate, it was owned by the Pernštejn family and Ernest of Bavaria. In 1563, it was acquired by Mikuláš of Bubna of Litice. In 1575, he bought the second part of Žamberk and merged the two parts. In 1575–1600, he had a castle built here and since then it was known as the Žamberk estate. The Bubna of Litice family owned the estate until 1809.

Economy
The largest industrial employer based in the town is Bühler CZ, a manufacturer of food processing machines with more than 250 employees.

Transport
The I/11 road from Hradec Králové to Šumperk runs through the town.

The railway station named Žamberk, which serves the town, is located in the territory of the neighbouring Dlouhoňovice. It lies on the railway line heading from Hradec Králové to Letohrad.

Sights
The historic centre is formed by Masarykovo Square and adjacent streets. The main landmark of the square is the town hall. It is a Neoclassical building from 1810. In the middle of the square are a Marian column from the late 17th century and a fountain with sculptures of a nymph and a centaur.

The Church of Saint Wencleslaus is the highest building in the town. Its existence was first mentioned in 1348.

The Žamberk Castle is a Renaissance building that includes the Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and a castle park, probably founded in the 19th century. The castle is inaccessible to the public.

The Jewish cemetery was established in around 1700 and today there is a small exposition on Jewish population in the town.

Notable people

 * Prokop Diviš (1698–1765), inventor, catholic priest
 * Theodor Brorsen (1819–1895), Danish astronomer and botanist; worked here
 * Eduard Albert (1841–1900), Austrian surgeon, professor and historian
 * Václav F. Kumpošt (1846–1874), founder of the Vesmír magazine
 * August Seydler (1849–1891), astronomer, theoretical physicist and professor
 * Jan Vilímek (1860–1938), illustrator and painter
 * Josef Ježek (1884–1969), politician
 * Oldřich Marek (1911–1986), entomologist and teacher; worked here
 * Petr Eben (1929–2007), composer

Twin towns – sister cities
Žamberk is twinned with:


 * 🇮🇹 Fresagrandinaria, Italy
 * 🇵🇱 Nowa Sól, Poland
 * 🇩🇪 Püttlingen, Germany
 * 🇺🇸 Rice Lake, United States
 * 🇫🇷 Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, France
 * 🇩🇪 Senftenberg, Germany
 * 🇦🇹 Senftenberg, Austria
 * 🇭🇺 Veszprém, Hungary

Žamberk also has friendly relations with Miharu in Japan.