ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA	CZECH REPUBLIC
Královéhradecký kraj	Hradec Králové region
Okres: Náchod

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Ratibořice (German: Ratiborschitze) is situated at the river Úpa (Aupa), about 6 km west of the district town Náchod. The locality is part of the municipality of Česká Skalice.

The vilage and the castle were first mentioned in 1388. In 1464 it belonged to the domains of Rýzmburg, but the castle likely was abandoned by 1534. In 1582 the domains were incorporated into those of Náchod. Ratibořice today is known for Ratibořice castle, which was built in 1708 in Italian Baroque style and was remodeled in Empire style in 1810–1812. In 1813 the castle was the site of a meeting between the Austrian chancellor Clemens von Metternich and the Russian Tsar Alexander I leading to further deliberations at Opočno castle, discussing the alliance against Napoléon I. In 1839 the domains were inherited by the prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld who sold it in 1842 to the reigning prince of Schaumburg-Lippe whose family remained in possession of the domains until 1945.

The well-known Czech writer Božena Němcová spent her childhood in Ratibořice. The village, the castle and its surroundings became famous through her autobiographical novel Babička ('The Grandmother'). The book was written in 1853–1854 and was published in 1855. It is her most popular work and is regarded as a classic piece of Czech literature. This most frequently read book of the Czech nation was published more than 300 times in Czech alone and translated into 21 other languages.

Glass no. 4714 [left], a souvenir from Ratibořice, shows a scene from Božena Němcová's book.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Ratibo%C5%99ice; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grandmother]

Babiččino údolí ('Grandmother Valley') is a National Natural Monument in the Náchod district in northeastern Bohemia. As part of the Aupa valley it starts at Úpice and ends at Česká Skalice. It received its name after the novel Babička ('The Grandmother') by the Czech writer Božena Něcová, who spent her childhood in Ratibořice. Since the main character of the novel, Babička, became a national-romantic identification figure, the naming of the Babiččino údolí was primarily in honor and in memory of the writer Božena Němcová. The designation Babiččino údolí was first used in 1878 by the Czech writer Otakar Jedlička. In 1952 the name Babiččino údolí was officially introduced by the Ministry of Education and the valley was declared a protected landscape area. In 1978 it was designated a national natural monument.

Glass no. 4152 [left] shows a view of the Old Bleach (staré bělidlo), a wooden cottage with a shingle roof, built in 1797. Božena Něcová placed the main plot of her book Babička (The Grandmother), published in 1855, here. After 1945, the building was supplemented with folk furniture and equipment according to the story.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi%C4%8D%C4%8Dino_%C3%BAdol%C3%AD; https://www.ratiborice-babiccinoudoli.cz/babiccino-udoli/stare-belidlo/]