Děčín was first mentioned in 993, when a Premyslid fort was probably situated there. In the mid-13th century a stone castle was erected in its place and, south of it, a royal town was built. The event that determined the town’s 19th-century economic development was the start of the Prague – Podmokly – Dresden railway line in 1851. The owners of the domain, especially Franz Anton Thun, an intellectual and enlightened economist, made a major contribution to the upswing of the town. Around 1880, Podmokly outgrew Děčín in terms of both population and economic significance. The town councillors of Podmokly managed to keep the contemporary building boom under control and thus, one of the most compact and largest monuments of Art Nouveau architecture in the Czech lands came to exist. In October 1942, Děčín, Podmokly and Staré Město were integrated into a single urbanistic whole. With a population of 53,000, Děčín is nowadays an important transport, business and administration hub and, thanks to its scenic surroundings, one of the principal tourist centers of North Bohemia.