Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. It is on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge. It is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic.Settled by German and Flemish migrants from the 14th century until their expulsion after World War II, Liberec was once home to a thriving textile industry and hence nicknamed the "Manchester of Bohemia". For many Czechs, Liberec is mostly associated with the city's dominant Ještěd Tower. Since the end of the 19th century, the city has been a conurbation with the suburb of Vratislavice and the neighboring town of Jablonec nad Nisou. Therefore, the total area with suburbs encompasses 150,000 inhabitants. That makes Liberec the third-largest city, including the suburbs, in Bohemia after Prague and Plzeň.HistoryLiberec was first mentioned in a document of 1348 and from 1622 to 1634 was among the possessions of Albrecht von Wallenstein. After his death it belonged to the Gallas and Clam Gallas families. The cloth-making industry was introduced in 1579. The prosperous local industry was interrupted by the Thirty Years' War and a great plague in the 1680s. The Battle of Reichenberg between Austria and Prussia occurred nearby in 1757 during the Seven Years' War.