Bozkov

Bozkov is a municipality and village in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. It is known for the Bozkovské Dolomite Caves.

Etymology
The village was probably originally called Boskov and the name was derived from the personal name Bosek, meaning "Bosek's (court)". Probably due to a clerical error, the name was corrupted to Bozkov.

Geography
Bozkov is located about 4 km north of Semily and 22 km southeast of Liberec. It lies in a hilly landscape of the Giant Mountains Foothills. The highest point is the hill Na Končinách at 524 m above sea level.

History
The first written mention of Bozkov is from 1356. The most notable owners of Bozkov were the Smiřičký of Smiřice family (in the 16th century), Albrecht von Wallenstein (in 1622–1634), the Desfours family (in 1635–1748), and the Caretto-Millesimo family (in 1748–1824). In 1923, Bozkov was promoted to a market town, but lost the title after World War II.

Transport
The municipality is briefly crossed by the railway line Železný Brod–Tanvald, but there is no train station.

Sights
Bozkov is known for the Bozkovské Dolomite Caves. They were formed due to a strong corrosive activity of the underground water in the lentil of calcareous metamorphosed dolomites, in some parts strongly silificated. Since 1999, they have been protected as a national nature monument. Their lower parts are permanently flooded and form the largest underground lake in Bohemia. The known spaces are 1060 m long and they are the longest dolomite caves in the country. A 350 m long route is open to the public and annually visited by about 70,000 visitors.

The most valuable building in Bozkov is the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. It was built in 1697 and contains a rare Gothic sculpture of the Madonna, locally called "Queen of the Mountains". The church tower is 49 m high and is open to the public as a lookout tower.