The town of Neratovice is located in the Czech Republic, the Central Bohemian Region, in the district of Mělník, 17 km north of Prague and 10 km south of Mělník. The town lies at an altitude of 162 m above sea level on the Elbe River, which flows through the town and is home to about 16,000 inhabitants.
History of the town
The area of Neratovice and its surroundings has been inhabited almost continuously since the Neolithic period. For centuries it remained only a tiny village. The first written mention of Neratovice dates back to 1227. After that, Neratovice belonged mainly to the municipality of Lobkovice. Neratovice has been an important railway junction since 1865, as an important railway line from Kralupy nad Vltavou to Turnov runs through the town. The only major historical event in the village was the blowing up of the then new railway bridge in 1866 during the Prussian-Austrian War. In 1884 Neratovice became an independent municipality. The village of Neratovice began to develop especially after 1898 with the establishment of the V. B. Goldberg and then in 1905 with the establishment of G. Šebor’s factory for the production of various chemicals. However, a huge boom in the chemical industry in Neratovice occurred during and especially after the Second World War, when the gigantic Spolana and the smaller but also important Lachema companies were built here. This brought with it an influx of inhabitants to the village and the necessity of building growth of the village, construction of residential estates and the necessary infrastructure. In 1957 Neratovice was upgraded to a town.
Although many people know Neratovice only as the seat of the Spolana chemical factory, you will also find historical monuments and modern attractions here. In the part of the town called Lobkovice, which used to be a separate village, there is the Lobkowicz family castle and the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with its bell tower, while on the other side of the town you will find the Church of St. Vojtěch. A modern rarity is the stone inscription LOVE by the sculptor Lenka Klodová. A rarity of Neratovice is the railway line that runs right through the square in the centre.
Historical monuments
Castle
Located in the southeastern part of Lobkowitz, originally probably a wooden fortress built on a rock outcropping, surrounded by the Elbe River. Mikuláš Chudý of Újezd and Lobkovice rebuilt it into a larger Gothic tower-like building. The three-storey prismatic tower made of quarry stone, preserved in the southern wing of today’s castle, became the core. In 1450 the fortress was conquered by George of Poděbrady. At the beginning of the 17th century, the building was rebuilt into a Renaissance chateau (first mentioned in 1610). The defensive moat on the western side was bridged with a brick stone bridge, which replaced the original drawbridge. During the Thirty Years” War the castle was plundered and greatly damaged. All that remained was the tower, to which Prince Ferdinand August Lobkowicz had a Baroque-style castle added in 1679.
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary – It probably stood in Lobkovice already around 1350, when the parish village of Lobkovice with a church and a fortress is mentioned. Originally all in Gothic style, it was rebuilt in Baroque style around 1700. Inside there is a decorated main altar from 1693 with a central painting depicting the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Until the beginning of the 20th century, an old cemetery surrounded the church, from which the tomb of F. Palacký’s family and several other graves remain today. Next to the church, a new, stone and non-style, four-sided bell tower was built around 1834 on the site of the old wooden bell tower.
Tomb of František Palacký - The tomb is dominated by a statue of the Saviour by J. Maixner from Vienna, created around 1860. Since 2004, the tomb, registered in the Central List of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic, has been in the permanent care of the town of Neratovice.
Church of St. Vojtěch - In 1666 it was built by Count Ferdinand Vilém Slavata, the owner of the Obříství estate, to which the memorial site belonged at that time. The church hides in its interior a stone on which, according to the legend, the Bishop of Prague, Vojtěch, rested when he returned to Prague from (Stara) Boleslav, where he celebrated the pilgrimage mass for St. Wenceslas on 28 September 987. While resting, he was ambushed, beaten and robbed of his shoes by local ferrymen, whose simple blessing was not enough as a reward for taking him across the river.
The stone inscription LOVE has stood on an artificial hill in the newer part of town since 2001. The sandstone monument is the work of academic sculptor Lenka Klodová. The letters are approximately 2.5 metres high.
Important personalities of the town
František Palacký
In 1829, JUDr. Jan Měchura bought the Lobkovice estate and later it was inherited by his daughter Terezie, František Palacký’s wife. It was at the local chateau that he worked on a substantial part of his seminal work, The History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia, between 1852 and 1860. On 31 May 1876, Palacký was buried alongside his beloved wife in Lobkowice in the old cemetery near the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, after its closure only the tomb of the Palacký family and a few old graves remained. That’s why our grammar school is called Gymnasium František Palacký.
Free time
The town has a wide range of sports facilities. There is an indoor swimming pool with a water slide, a very famous flooded sandpit near Mlékojedy, which is used for summer swimming and the possibility to play beach volleyball, use the climbing wall and run water rides. The popular Elbe cycling trail passes along the banks of the Elbe around Neratovice, and a marked hiking trail leads you after a few kilometres to Kostelec nad Labem.
Cultural activities
Culture lovers can visit the cinema, the summer cinema or the cultural house with a ballroom.
Grammar school of František Palacký (GFP)
The school we attend is an eight year grammar school focused on general knowledge. GFP has a wide offer of languages and opportunities. Our school holds many big events, like Majáles or Áves. The teacher staff consists of many professionals with awesome capabilities. GFP has its own gymnasium and plenty specialized classrooms. Within GFPs specialities belong Latin classes, swimming classes or labs (biology, physics, chemistry). I have been attending GFP for four years now and I am not planning on transfering to another high school, overall I have to say that I am really satisfied.
The Erasmus+ team
