The name of the town originates from the adjective "white". The term Bielina is etymologically derived either from fact there was an area without any wood or from sparkling waters of the river Bílina.
History
Middle Ages
During the 10th century, the era of making Bohemian state, a gord was built here by Bohemian rulers as a defence point against German raids from neighbouring Saxon Eastern March. The first written mention of the settlement, then a seat of a province, dates back to 993 and comes from the Chronicle of Bohemians, which describes a battle between duke Bretislaus I and the German emperorHenry III near the gord. Before the half of 13th century knight Ojíř of Friedberk built a new castle in the settlement, which was expanded into a mediaeval town with bulwarks and three gates. Since the 2nd half of the 13th centuryGerman settlers were called into the border areas of the Bohemian Kingdom, introducing German town law; it was also the case with Bílina town which is first mentioned as a regular chartered town in 1289. In 1420 Bílina was kept by lord Albrecht of Koldice, well known for his anti-Hussite attitude. Thus, Bílina was surrounded and conquered by a HussitehejtmanJakoubek of Vřesovice who returned Bílina to the Koldice family in 1436 and lords of Koldice kept the town until 1495. After 1502, the town of Bílina was owned by the aristocratic family of Lobkowicz who later built on the place of Gothic castle a new chateau, designed by Swiss-Italian architect Antonio della Porta.
Local springs of delicious mineral water began to be systematically exploited already in 1664. In 1702 Princess Eleonore of Lobkowicz had the mineral spring cleaned and the very first spa guests began to visit. By the end of 19th century the spa Biliner Sauerbrunn had become the pride of the town. Bílina also received the nickname "Vichy of Germany". The digestive pastilles produced here also provided a worldwide common name for digestive regulators and laxatives: "Seidlitz Powders." The lozenges were made from the spring's mineral water Sedlitz bitter water, which was also used in the local spa balneology. Scientific descriptions of the medicinal properties of local water treatment have contributed to the works of significant balneologists, including Franz Ambrosius Reuss, August Emanuel von Reuss and Josef von Löschner. Father and son Reuss are depicted in the spa Bílina memorial, which dominates the spa's central park. In 1878 a large spa complex was built in a Renaissance Revival style, designed by the Lobkowicz family architect and builder Franz Sablik. Above the main spring, called "Joseph's Spring", a so-called spring temple was built, which protected it from the influences of the surroundings and at the same time allowed visitors to gather water as it was common in other European spas. Another building became popular among visitors: Forest Café, built as a timber pavilion in Swiss mountainous style. 4,315,300 bottles of Bílinská kyselka mineral water were exported in 1900, the biggest importer being Germany and Russia. The most distant country where water was exported was Brazil.
Geography
The town of Bílina is situated in the northwestern Bohemia, lies in the valley of the Bílina River between the Central Bohemian Uplands and the Ore Mountains. It is situated between two bigger cities: Teplice and Most. The town is dominated by two features: the steep hill Bořeň 1 km south and the close proximity of the giant brown coal mine Bílina which seriously changed and damaged surrounding landscape.
Places of interest
Lobkowicz château – built in the years 1675–1682 on the site of an earlier Gothic castle
Hussite bastion – a remnant of the massive town fortifications
