Semily (; ) is a town in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,000 inhabitants.
Semily consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
The name means "the settlement of semils". The old Czech word semil was the designation of a person who is nice. So Semily was a settlement of nice people.
Semily is located about southeast of Liberec. Most of the municipal territory lies in the Giant Mountains Foothills, only in the southwest, it extends into the Jeà ¡tÃÂdâÂÂKozákov Ridge. The highest point is the Medenec hill at above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the Jizera and Oleà ¡ka rivers. The Kamenice River briefly flows along the northwestern municipal border and then joins the Jizera. The valley of the Jizera near Semily is protected as the ÃÂdolàJizery Nature Reserve.
The first written mention of Semily is from 1352, when existence of a church is mentioned. In the middle of the 19th century, the settlement transformed into a wealthy town when the industrialization arrived and the development of rail transport occurred. Semily also profited from an advantageous location near the Jizera River.
Semily lies on the railway line LiberecâÂÂPardubice.
The main landmark is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. It was built in the Neo-Romanesque style in 1908âÂÂ1911, after the old Baroque church from 1702 was torn down.
The Church of Saint John the Baptist was built in the Baroque style in 1723âÂÂ1727. It is a valuable cemetery church.
Dr. Karel Farský prayer house was built for the Czechoslovak Hussite Church in 1938 and is considered one of the most valuable buildings of modern architecture in the region.
Obecnàdà ¯m is a large Art Nouveau house built in 1906âÂÂ1909, which forms a significant landmark in the historic centre of the town. The house is decorated with a mosaic by Jano Köhler.
The town hall dates from 1874. It replaced an old dilapidated wooden town hall from 1702.
The Museum and Regional Gallery is located in a historical one-floor house first documented in the early 17th century, where Antal Staà ¡ek worked and his son Ivan Olbracht was born. The museum and gallery has been located there since 1960.
Semily is twinned with: