History

The first written mention dates back to 993. The settlement naturally developed along the Elbe River, which was also an important trade route. The Premyslid fortress on the rock was founded as an administrative centre to guard the Elbe waterway. It was later replaced by a stone castle, under which Přemysl Otakar II founded the royal town of Děčín on the south side of the castle rock. The estate administered from the royal castle gradually passed to the Markvatic family, the Vartenbergs, the Trčků of Lípa, the Saxon Salhausen family, the Knights of Bünau to the Thun-Hohenstein family, who owned the castle until 1932. From that year onwards, the state was the owner of the castle and the armies took turns in the castle as the political situation developed. In 1991 the castle passed into the hands of the town, which then renovated it. The reconstruction of the castle also included the surrounding castle gardens.

The town of Děčín is composed of two original towns, Děčín and Podmokel, which merged only in 1942. Throughout its existence, the town has been linked to the Elbe River. Especially in the past, Děčín was an important river port and railway transport hub. Worth mentioning is the steel bridge of Dr. Miroslav Tyrš, which was built as the first riveted bridge in the republic in 1933 by the Škoda factories in Plzeň on the site of the original Empress Elisabeth Chain Bridge. At the time of its opening it was the largest of its kind in Czechoslovakia.

Insensitive urban planning interventions in the 1960s deprived the town of its medieval layout. Nevertheless, you can find various interesting architectural elements and historical buildings such as the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross or the Old Town Bridge over the Ploučnice River. In 2006, Děčín became a statutory town.