2011 European Veterans Table Tennis Championships

Liberec, a city with more than 100.000 inhabitants, is situated in the northern part of the Czech Republic, about 100 km (one-hour drive by car) north from Prague. The German or Polish borders can be reached in 30 minutes. The city is located in the valley between the "Jizerské Hory" mountains and the Mount "Ještěd". The main geographical attraction of the city and the whole surroundings can be found there: the 1012m high mountain "Ještěd" with an architectonically significant hotel situated right on the top. The top of the mountain offers also a beautiful view of the highest Czech mountains – Krkonoše (Giant Mountains) – as well as of the whole city. There are two rivers flowing through the city with a small dam, which is a favourite local recreation area.

The settlement of Liberec, although first mentioned in 1352, originated probably already in the end of 13th century on the merchant trail from Bohemia to Lusatia. The village began to grow near to the fording of the Harcovský stream, where the merchants could have a rest after the difficult crossing over the mountain ridge. In 1577 the emperor Rudolf II promoted the village of Liberec to a city.

Liberec is proud of many interesting buildings. The most interesting one is the City Hall on the Dr. E. Beneš Square, built in neo-renaissance style. The construction was finished in 1893 and since that time it has been a symbol of economic and cultural development of the city.

The other points of interest are the North Bohemian Museum, the Regional Gallery, the Regional Research Library, the F. X. Šalda Theatre and the multifunctional Tipsport Arena. The Babylon entertainment centre attracts many tourists to its Aquapark, Lunapark, shopping mall, spas, XD-cinema, IQ Park and other attractions.

Since 2000, Liberec is one of 13 Czech regional capitals. The "Liberec region" with area of more than 3,160 square km is the home of population of about 430.000.

For more information visit Liberec Tourist Information Center.