Liberec [key], Ger. Reichenberg, city (1991 pop. 101,967), N Czech Republic, in Bohemia, on the Lausitzer Neisse (Lužická Nisa) River and near the German and Polish borders. The city is a textile center known especially for its woolens; textile machinery and glassware are also produced there. Founded c.1350, Liberec has enjoyed prosperity since the 16th cent., when clothmaking was introduced; the first textile factories were built in the 18th cent. German troops occupied the city from 1938 to 1945 and expelled the Czech residents. Under Czech resettlement, Germans were forced out of the city.
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