[3] Vratislavice nad Nisou is declared a self-governing borough, while the rest of the city is governed directly.

[5] The Czech equivalent originated as a distortion: Rychberk (1545), Libercum (1634), Liberk (1790), and finally Liberec (1845).

The reservoir is located inside the built-up area on the Lusatian Neisse's tributary, the stream of Harcovský potok.

Today it serves mainly as a recreational place for the residents of Liberec, but it was originally designed to protect the city from floods and as a water reservoir for industrial use.

In the 11th or 12th century, a settlement named Habersdorf, which was the predecessor of Liberec, was established on the trade route from Bohemia to Lusatia by Czech settlers and German colonizers.

Reichenberg suffered from the passing through of troops during the Hussite Wars, then was burned down in 1469 during a battle with the army of King George of Poděbrady.

After the Biebersteins died out, the Frýdlant estate, which included Reichenberg, was bought by the Redern family in 1558.

When the Redern family was forced to leave Reichenberg after the Battle of White Mountain (1620), it was acquired by Albrecht von Wallenstein.

The prosperous local industry was interrupted by the Thirty Years' War and a great plague in 1680.

The Battle of Reichenberg between Austria and Prussia occurred nearby in 1757 during the Seven Years' War, but the town continued to develop.

In the late 19th century, a spectacular collection of representative buildings was created, mostly in the neo-Renaissance style: the city hall, the opera house, the North Bohemian Museum, the Old Synagogue, and others.

[13] After the end of World War I, Austria-Hungary fell apart and the Czechs of Bohemia joined newly established Czechoslovakia on 29 October 1918 whilst the Germans wanted to stay with Austria to form reduced German Austria on 12 November 1918, both citing Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the doctrine of self-determination.

Czechs however argued that these lands, though German-settled since the Middle Ages, were historically an integral part of the Duchy and Kingdom of Bohemia.

On 16 December 1918, the Czechoslovak Army entered Liberec and the whole province remained part of Bohemia.

[14] The Great Depression devastated the economy of the area with its textile, carpet, glass and other light industry.

The high number of unemployed people, hunger, fear of the future and dissatisfaction with the Prague government led to the flash rise of the populist Sudeten German Party (SdP), founded by Konrad Henlein, born in the suburbs of Liberec.

The final change came in Summer 1938, after the radicalization of the terror of the SdP, whose death threats forced Kostka and his family to flee to Prague.

[17] The largest employers with headquarters in Liberec and at least 1,000 employees are:[20] The Liberec-Jablonec agglomeration was defined as a tool for drawing money from the European Structural and Investment Funds.

Liberec shares the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge tramway line which connects it to its neighbouring Jablonec nad Nisou.

The first connects Horní Hanychov (next to the cable car to Ještěd) and Lidové Sady via Fügnerova.

It has an exceptional collection of Germano-Slavica and Sudetica (periodicals and books in German language from Bohemia).

Slovan Liberec is one of the most successful clubs in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles.

The ice hockey team HC Bílí Tygři Liberec play in the Czech Extraliga, the national top tier.

[30] The most visited tourist destinations in the city are the Liberec Zoo, iQ Landia (a science centre) and Centrum Babylon (an entertainment centre which includes a large water park, amusement park, casino, shopping court and hotel).

However, since this is a bred form of the mainland Asian tiger and not a separate species, it is planned to end their breeding after the death of the last individual.

[33] The Botanical Garden Liberec was established in 1876 by the Verein der Naturfreunde ("Society of Friends of Nature") and is the oldest one in the Czech Republic.

Today it comprises nine glasshouses for visitors with a total area of 4,002 m2 (43,080 sq ft) and more than 8,000 exotic plants.