Jablonné v Podještědí

Jablonné v Podještědí (until 1946 Německé Jablonné; Deutsch Gabel, until 1901 Gabel) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts
The town parts of Markvartice and Zámecká and the villages of Česká Ves, Heřmanice v Podještědí, Kněžice, Lada v Podještědí, Lvová, Petrovice, Pole, Postřelná and Valdov are administrative parts of Jablonné v Podještědí.

Geography
Jablonné v Podještědí is located about 20 km west of Liberec, on the border with Germany. It lies mostly in the Ralsko Uplands, but the northern part of the municipal territory extends into the Lusatian Mountains. The highest point is the Hvozd mountain at 749 m above sea level, located on the Czech-German border. The Panenský Stream flows through the town. There are several ponds in the vicinity of the town.

History
Jablonné v Podještědí was founded by German colonizers in the 12th century. Its advantageous location on the trade route from Zittau to Prague helped the development from a village to a town, and for several centuries it became an important place of trade and customs. Around 1240, Lemberk Castle was founded by Havel of Markvartice for guarding the trade route.

Until 1918, the town was part of Austria-Hungary, head of the Gabel District, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia. In 1918, it became a part of independent Czechoslovakia.

In 1938, Jablonné was ceded to Nazi Germany as a result of the Munich Agreement. Until 1945, it was administered as a part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. In May 1945, after the liberation of Czechoslovakia, it returned under Czechoslovak administration.

Transport
There is the road border crossing Petrovice / Lückendorf with Germany. The I/13 road (the section from Liberec to Děčín, which is a part of the European route E442) passes through the town.

Jablonné v Podještědí is located on the railway line from Liberec to Děčín.

Sights
Jablonné v Podještědí is known for the Basilica of Saints Lawrence and Zdislava. It is a basilica minor, built at the beginning of the 18th century. It is one of the leading buildings of Baroque architecture in Central Europe. The dome is 34 m high. For its value it is protected as a national cultural monument.

The Lemberk Castle, which is located in the Lvová village. It is open to the public.

Palme's manor was originally a homestead, rebuilt into a large late Baroque manor at the beginning of the 19th century. Today it is a private residence.

Notable people

 * Zdislava Berka (c. 1220–1252), saint; died here
 * Karl von Ergert (1795–1865), Austrian military officer
 * Josef Johann Mann (1804–1889), entomologist
 * Franz Ergert (1858–1931), Austrian industrialist
 * Wenzel Bürger (1869–1946), German architect
 * Alfred Gürtler (1875–1933), Austrian economist and politician
 * Hildegard Neumann (1919–2010), Nazi officer
 * Gert Willner (1940–2000), German politician