ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA	CZECH REPUBLIC
Liberecký kraj	Liberec region
Okres: Česká Lípa

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• de: Bad Hirschberg, Hirschberg am See • lt: Doksai
• sr, uk: Докси • ru: Доксы

Doksy (in German: Bad Hirschberg, Hirschberg am See) is situated at an elevation of 266 m in the valley of the stream Robečský potok in the Ralsko Uplands, about 15 km southeast of the district town Česká Lípa and about 36 southwest of the regional capital, Liberec. The municipality, The town, including its parts of Břehyně, Kruh, Obora, Staré Splavy, Vojetín and Žďár, has a population of approximately 5,200 (2023).

The town was probably established along with the nearby Bezděz Castle by King Ottokar II in 1264. However, because it is questioned whether the founding document really concerns today's Doksy, a deed from 1293 is considered as the first trustworthy mention of the place. In 1367, Emperor Charles IV established a pond here and also promoted the settlement to a town. The importance of Doksy has increased from 1553, when it became the centre of a separate estate. From 1595, the estate was owned by the Berka of Dubá family. After the Battle of White Mountain (1620, Bíla Hora, today in Prague), their properties were confiscated and Doksy was acquired by Albrecht von Wallenstein. From 1680 until 1945, Doksy was owned by the Waldstein family. Following the Munich Agreement the area was annexed to Nazi germany in 1938 and was administered as part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland (see map). After World War II, the German-speaking population was expelled in 1945 and replaced by Czech settlers.

Today, Doksy is known for Lake Mácha and its summer vacation resort. The artificial pond, with an area of 2,84 km² today the largest in the region and 9th largest body of water in the country, goes back to the pond created 1366 and which had an original area of 300 hectares. Its older name was Velký rybník ('Big Pond', or in German Großteich) or Hirschberský rybník ('Hirschberg Pond', or in German Hirschberger Großteich). Its current name was established after 1945 and despite the fact that the official renaming never took place, it has appeared in official documents since 1961. The modern name refers to the romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha, who was charmed by the surrounding landscape and located the basis of his most famous poem Máj here. In the 19th century, there was a spa resort. Until 1920, the area was property of the Waldstein family, who allowed swimming in designated places. The pond was fully opened for recreation in 1928. In that year, the first big beach was established. The spa, however, was closed in the 1950s, but tourism on the lake did not stop but rather developed further.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doksy, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doksy; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_M%C3%A1cha]