Žatec

Žatec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈʒatɛts]; German: Saaz) is an old town in the Czech Republic, in Louny District, Ústí nad Labem Region. It has a population of 19,813 (2006). The earliest historical reference to Sacz is in the Latin chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg of 1004. During the 11th century it belonged to the Vršovci - a powerful Czech aristocratic family. A coat-of-arms was given to the inhabitants by Vladislav II for their courage during the storming of Milan, and the place is mentioned as a royal town under Otakar II. From the outbreak of the Hussite Wars to the Thirty Years' War, the town was Hussite or Protestant, but after the Battle of White Mountain (1620) the greater part of the Czech inhabitants left the town, which...