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26-568: The town is made up of the town parts and villages of Boreček, Horní Krupá, Hradčany, Hvězdov, Jabloneček, Kuřívody, Náhlov, Ploužnice and Svébořice. The municipal office is located in Kuřívody. The town is named after the mountain Ralsko . The mountain was initially named Radlsko, meaning "belonging to a place called Rádlo". Ralsko is located about 21 km (13 mi) southeast of Česká Lípa and 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Liberec . It lies in

52-466: A contract of protection on 21st August 1346. In its beginnings, the pact was chiefly intended to protect against knights-errant and other wandering warriors. Over the next centuries, the city union would influence the history of Upper Lusatia significantly, lasting longer than any other city union in Germany. The union of the cities caused a considerable increase in their political influence and visibility. It

78-504: A little museum in Kuřívody. Only recently has the former military training area been opened as a natural reserve. On the Ralsko mountain there is a ruin of a Gothic castle. It has been desolate since the 16th century. There is a Renaissance castle in Kuřívody, formerly a fortress. Ralsko (mountain) Ralsko ( German : Rollberg or Roll ) is a mountain in the Liberec Region of

104-603: A military training area in surroundings of the Ralsko mountain. The displacement of the population was completed on 31 October 1952. More than 3,000 inhabitants were evicted from the villages. The Ralsko Mountain and the airfield were used as a military weapons-testing area for decades. After the Prague Spring of 1968, the installation was manned by Soviet Troops. In the late 1980s the Soviet 442nd Missile Brigade stationed SS-21 short-range tactical missiles at Hvězdov. It 1988, there

130-626: Is possible that the founding of the union was helped by the Bohemian king Charles IV of Luxembourg , then ruler of the Holy Roman Empire as King of the Romans , as a counterbalance to the power of the landed gentry. Unlike other civil arrangements in Upper Lusatia at the time, there was no dominant town in the league, although before the 12th century the town of Bautzen served as the ancestral seat of

156-672: The Czech Republic . It is a 698-metre-high (2,290 ft) basalt isolated cone mountain. It is the highest peak of the Ralsko Uplands and of the entire Bohemian Table subprovince. The ruins of the Gothic Ralsko Castle are on its top. The summit area is protected as a nature reserve. Ralsko is located in the municipal territories of Noviny pod Ralskem and Ralsko , about 16 kilometres (10 mi) east of Česká Lípa and 22 kilometres (14 mi) west of Liberec . The peak of

182-563: The Milceni , an ancient West Slavic tribe. Even though Bautzen served as the administrative center and was often called the capital of the league and Görlitz was for several centuries both the most populous and the economically strongest town, the differences between the individual towns were never so large that one town dominated the league outright. Even so, there was a nominal division of the league's six towns into "large towns", which were Bautzen, Görlitz, and Zittau, and "small towns", which included

208-404: The Ralsko Uplands . The highest point of Ralsko and the entire Ralsko Uplands in the Ralsko mountain at 696 m (2,283 ft) above sea level, located on the northern municipal border. The Ploučnice River shortly crosses the municipal territory in the northeast. There are several fishonds in the area; the largest of them are Hradčanský and Novodvorský. Because of the former military area,

234-564: The 14th century. In the 15th century, the castle was expanded with a shield wall. The castle was conquered in 1468 by the troops of the Bohemian Lusatian League . A ruse was used to do this, and soldiers secretly entered the castle while the cattle were returning from the pasture. In 1505 the castle is mentioned as being abandoned. 50°40′27″N 14°45′55″E  /  50.6741°N 14.7653°E  / 50.6741; 14.7653 Lusatian League The Lusatian League

260-449: The advantages it gained. As time went on, Görlitz exercised more and more power within the league, even as Bautzen remained the league's administrative center. Meanwhile, in the beginning years of the league, Zittau also hosted a representative of the king, in addition to Bautzen. The city lost its representative in 1412. However, the power granted by hosting a royal representative made the town quite wealthy, so much so that at times, Zittau

286-406: The cities had nicknames for each other's residents. The residents of Görlitz were referred to as "hat-turners," people from Zittau were called " cow -pushers," people from Bautzen were named " cat -snatchers," residents of Kamenz were called "snifflers," Lauban residents were labeled " onion -eaters," and the denizens of Löbau were named " cabbage -painters." However, not all inter-town communication

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312-482: The league managed to have certain aspects of the legal system split. This was first accomplished by establishing a separate court for townspeople, and eventually a court for farmers within each municipal area. Knights and gentry could be tried in municipal courts as well. The courts also heard cases involving crimes which took place on country routes outside of the cities. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Lusatia

338-444: The league of six towns severely for this. Indeed, even though the towns were able to again consolidate their position, their political power was never as strong again. Primarily, the legal system in the league was in the hands of the king's representative to Upper Lusatia. He led a court named the "Voigtsding." There the gentry, farmers, and townspeople all appeared, although clergy were exempt to proceedings there. As time progressed,

364-702: The league was the most powerful political force in Upper Lusatia, and was able to outstrip the local gentry in terms of power. In 1547, the fallout of the Schmalkald War, when the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I fought against the Protestant Schmalkaldic League , weakened the Lusatian League considerably. The league of six towns sided with Schmalkald because as city leagues, they shared the same form of government. The emperor punished

390-457: The mountain formed as a volcanic upheaval during the geologic Tertiary Period . From 1950 to 1991, the mountain part of the Ralsko military training area. The summit area with an area of 23.7 hectares (59 acres) has been protected as a nature reserve since 1967. The first wooden castle was probably built as early as the 13th century. The oldest preserved parts of the castle are the two residential towers, which were probably built as early as

416-448: The other three towns of Kamenz, Lauban and Löbau. Still, in principle, all six towns within the league had equal standing. Even so, there were internal conflicts within the league. Because Bautzen served as the administrative center and capital of the league, it had the first voice in the local council , as well as several other rights and privileges. Bautzen reserved signatory power for the league concerning legal documents, and reserved

442-516: The right to open all of the league's official mail . Bautzen's other special privilege as administrative center was that it was the seat of the king's representative to the league, combining military, administrative, and royal power within the town. This caused conflicts with Görlitz, especially as Görlitz had quickly and unequivocally established itself as the economic center of the league. Görlitz achieved this position of economic superiority by being more easily reached by local traffic, and exploited

468-455: The town's municipal territory is 170.23 km (65.73 sq mi), which makes it the fourth largest municipality in the country after the cities of Prague , Brno and Ostrava . The oldest part of Ralsko is Kuřívody. The first written mention of Kuřívody is from 1279, it was founded between 1264 and 1278 by Ottokar II of Bohemia as a royal town. Due to lack of water, it remained a small town throughout its existence. Before 1945, there

494-520: The towns are located in present-day Germany ; Lubań and Zgorzelec (split from Görlitz after World War II ) are within Poland . The Lusatian League is known by the names Oberlausitzer Sechsstädtebund ( German ), Zwjazk šesćiměstow ( Upper Sorbian ), Šestiměstí ( Czech ) and Związek Sześciu Miast ( Polish ). In order to protect peace and order in Upper Lusatia, the six towns of Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Lauban, Löbau, and Zittau joined into

520-470: Was a historical alliance of six towns in the region of Upper Lusatia from 1346 until 1815, when the region was controlled first by Bohemia (1346–1635) and later by the Electorate of Saxony (1635–1815). The member towns were Bautzen ( Upper Sorbian : Budyšin ), Görlitz ( Zhorjelc ), Kamenz ( Kamjenc ), Lauban ( Lubań ), Löbau ( Lubij ) and Zittau ( Žitawa ). Five of

546-473: Was more than 20,000 permanent Soviet inhabitants (soldiers and their families) in the area. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990–91 the missiles were withdrawn and the entire weapons-testing area was closed off. Despite its large area, there are no railways or major roads passing through the municipal territory. Many of the discarded Czech and Soviet munitions were collected and are now on display at

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572-543: Was more than 7,000 inhabitants in today's Ralsko area. At the beginning of 1945, Hradčany Air Base was built by German army. After World War II , the German majority was expelled . In 1950, the Ralsko Military Training Area was established. In 1992, it was abolished and the municipality of Ralsko was established. In 2006, Ralsko became a town. Between 1946 and 1950, the inhabitants were relocated to establish

598-434: Was negative. The towns had positive reputations as well. People from Zittau were referred to as educated, people from Görlitz were known to be honest , people from Bautzen were called well-meaning, Lauban residents were known for being industrious, and Löbau residents enjoyed a reputation for being good with money. The height of the league's power and influence occurred in its first 200 years of existence. In this time period,

624-457: Was partitioned. Görlitz and Lauban were ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia , ending the six town league after almost 500 years of existence. The remaining four cities remained in a "four-city league," but this ended in 1868. On June 21, 1991, the 770-year anniversary of the founding of Löbau, the league was revived. However, there were now seven cities, as the eastern part of Görlitz, on the east side of

650-414: Was the second wealthiest town in the league, pushing Bautzen down into third place within the league. The other three towns, Löbau, Lauban, and Kamenz were economically weaker, and therefore less interested in their place within the league. When there was conflict within the cities of the league, Kamenz sided more often with Bautzen, and Lauban with Görlitz, in accordance to their geographical locations. Löbau

676-433: Was the weakest city in terms of military or economic power, but it laid in the middle of the region, and conciliatory councils between Bautzen and Görlitz were often held there. Because the cities remained united, despite economic competition with each other, this allowed the league to last a long time. Despite this, there were naturally still times of disagreement and discord within the league. In these times of disagreement,

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