Děčín

District town on both banks of the river Labe (Elbe), important river port. Origunally Slavic hill-fort of the Děčané tribe, later prince´s castle above the confluence of the rivers Labe and Ploučnice. The castle became a chateau and can be reached along the Long Ride with two gateways. Close to it is a terraced Rose Garden from the late 17th century and a salla terrena of 1678. Early baroque church of the Holy Rood, church of St. Wenceslas and Blasius, late Gothic bridge across the Ploučnice of 1831 is one of the oldest surviving of its kind in the country. Renaissance houses and Neo-gothic townhall. The hunting lodge of 1735 serves as District museum with a picture gallery, exhibition of Gothic sculpture and time pieces. Děčín is a main starting point for trips to Bohemian Switzerland.