Most

Most developed on the Bílina River in northwestern Bohemia, at a crossing of old trade routes. Its name means bridge, and the settlement became a royal town in the thirteenth century beneath Hněvín Castle. In 1374 Charles IV granted it the right to establish vineyards. Most withstood Hussite sieges in 1421 and 1424, but a severe fire in 1515 destroyed much of the town; rebuilding included a new church and town hall. During the Thirty Years' War Swedish troops occupied the town from 1639 to 1648. Afterward, residents asked that Hněvín Castle be demolished so it would no longer invite sieges, and it was dismantled in 1651–1653. Trade, agriculture and crafts continued, while coal mining began to change the district in the early nineteenth century.