Liptaň

Liptaň (German: Liebenthal) is a village and municipality in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic.

Liptaň
Municipality and village
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Flag Coat of arms
Liptaň Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°13′20″N 17°36′20″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Moravian-Silesian Region
District	Bruntál District
Government
• Mayor	Mgr. Blanka Klimošková
Area
• Total	7.81 sq mi (20.23 km^2)
Elevation	968 ft (295 m)
Population  (2011)
• Total	479
• Density	61/sq mi (24/km^2)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Liptaň municipality lies in the centre of Osoblažsko region by the narrow-gauge railway. It is probably the most attractive municipality of the region due to its location in the narrow, steep Liptaň stream valley and well kept village character with the dominating feature of the neo-gothic church. Maybe that’s the reason for the original German name of „Liebenthal“ (free translation of „lovely valley“). The first mention of Liptaň is from 1256 and currently has a population of 476. The dominating feature of the village is the parish Church of the Virgin Mary built of red bricks in neo-gothic style in 1866-1870. Valuable interior shows the decor has been preserved in a uniform style. An important landmark is the former police station of National Guards Defense (NGD, Building No. 261) where six NGD members were shot down by fanatic Germans in dramatic circumstances in 1938. Commemorating this event there is a memorial plaque on the former police station building, as well as two additional ones in town (one of which was replaced in 1988 with one commemorating World War I victims panel, but has been reverted in 2013). The house No.240 is also worth to see as it is a very valuable monument representing the former Osoblažsko folk architecture. Every Friday in the village centre, at the municipality office the Drak Gallery can be visited. (Building No.149)

To the south of Liptaň along the blue marked hiking trail it is situated the natural monument of Liptaň glacier erratic boulder. Reminding of the period 250–800 years ago the boulder was carried there by a continental glacier from the south of Sweden. Measuring its weight of nearly 4.7 t it is one of the biggest erratic boulders in the Czech Republic. To the north of Liptaň on the top of Strážnice hill there is a viewing tower where tourists are all year round able to see the northern and eastern part of Osoblažsko region, Polish plains and the dominant Praděd mountain together with the summits of Jeseniky mountains to the west. The viewing tower is accessible by a marked path leaving the blue marked hiking trail. At the upper end of Liptaň just below the Strážný hill there is a ski lift.

Liptaň also consists of the local villages called Horní Povelice and Bučávka. They are both worth destinations to be visited as there are renovated chapels close to which the cycling services places were built. The village of Horní Povelice keeps the original village character without the disturbing influence of new buildings.