Dolní Dobrouč

Dolní Dobrouč (Liebenthal) is a municipality and village in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,600 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The villages of Horní Dobrouč and Lanšperk are administrative parts of Dolní Dobrouč.

Geography
Dolní Dobrouč is located about 7 km east of Ústí nad Orlicí and 50 km east of Pardubice. It lies mostly in the Orlické Foothills, but it extends into the Svitavy Uplands in the west. The highest point is the hill Kamenný vrch at 570 m above sea level. The Tichá Orlice River forms the northwestern municipal border. The village is located in the valley of the Dobroučka Stream, which is a tributary of the Tichá Orlice.

History
The Lanšperk Castle was founded during the colonization of this area by King Ottokar II in the second half of the 13th century. The first written mention of Lanšperk is from 1285, when King Wenceslaus II donated it to Záviš of Falkenstein. The first written mention of Dolní Dobrouč is from 1292, when King Wenceslaus II donated the Lanšperk estate to the newly established Zbraslav Monastery. In 1343, the estate was acquired by the Olomouc bishopric, then in 1356 it was transferred to the Litomyšl bishopric.

From 1451 to 1506, the Lanšperk estate was owned by the Kostka of Postupice family, then they sold it to the Pernštejn family, who ruled it until 1588. From 1588 to 1622, the estate was in possession of the Hrzán of Harasov family. The Liechtenstein family bought the estate in 1622 and owned it until the 1920s. In 1873, Dolní Dobrouč was promoted to a market town, but the municipality lost the title during World War II.

Transport
Dolní Dobrouč is located on the railway line Ústí nad Orlicí–Červená Voda. The municipality is served by two train stations: Dolní Dobrouč and Lanšperk.

Sights
The main landmark of Dolní Dobrouč is the Church of Saint Nicholas. It was built in the Empire style in 1828–1829.

The Lanšperk Castle was probably founded in the mid-13th century. It became a ruin at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Today the ruin is freely accessible to the public.

Notable people

 * Zdeněk Beran (1937–2014), painter
 * Kamil Vacek (born 1987), footballer; raised here
 * Šimon Falta (born 1993), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities
Dolní Dobrouč is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇹 Rovereto, Italy