Stráž pod Ralskem
Stráž pod Ralskem (until 1946 Vartenberk, ) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,900 inhabitants. Etymology. The local castle was called Wartenberg ("Warte auf Berge" meant ("guard on the hill" in German). Vartenberk was Czech transcription of name. The modern name of the town 'Stráž" means literally "guard" in Czech, "pod Ralskem" refers to its location below the hill Ralsko. History. The first written mention is from 1283, when a castle was built here. The castle and the settlement were called Wartenberg and their owners became  known as Wartenberg family. In 1504, the Wartenberg family sold the manor to Bartholomew Hirschpergar, who rebuilt the Gothic castle to a chateau. At the end of the 19th century, tourism began to develop and Stráž pod Ralskem turned into a resort. In 1963, uranium ore was found and tourism has partly given way to industrialization. The uranium ore mining ended in 1996. Economy. Stráž pod Ralskem is known for its jailhouse.