Chrastava
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Chrastava (; german: Kratzau) is a town in
Liberec District Liberec District ( cs, okres Liberec) is the district (''okres'') within the Liberec Region of Czech Republic. As its name implies, its administrative center is the city of Liberec. Complete list of municipalities Bílá (Liberec District), Bílá ...
in the
Liberec Region Liberec Region ( cs, Liberecký kraj, german: Reichenberger Region, pl, Kraj liberecki) is an administrative unit (Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after i ...
of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. It has about 6,300 inhabitants.


Administrative parts

Chrastava is made up of town parts of Chrastava, Dolní Chrastava and Horní Chrastava, and of villages of Andělská Hora, Dolní Vítkov, Horní Vítkov, Víska and Vysoká.


Geography

Chrastava is located about northwest of
Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preser ...
. On the north, the municipal territory borders
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It lies mostly in the
Zittau Basin Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...
, but it also extends into the
Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains ( cz, Jizerské hory), or Izera Mountains ( pl, Góry Izerskie; german: Isergebirge), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera River, which rises a ...
on the north and to the
Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge (; cs, Ještědsko-kozákovský hřbet) is a ridge and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Western Sudetes. The vast majority lies in the Liberec Region. Geomorphology Ještěd–Ko ...
on the south. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers
Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...
. They came mainly from the town of
Pirna Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as ...
in
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and began to mine metals in the vicinity of Chrastava, in particularly copper, tin, lead, iron and silver. Chrastava, then known mostly by the German name Kratzau, was occupied by the
Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hussit ...
who use the town as a base for expeditions into
Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
during the
Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...
. In 1433, the local castle and the whole town was conquered and damaged. This caused general decline, departure of population and stagnation of trade, which lasted for several decades. In the 16th and 17th centuries, ore mining in Chrastava declined, when most of the reserves had already been mined. The population therefore gradually reoriented to the textile industry. The first large textile factory was built in 1815. In 1859, the railway was built. Chrastava became part of
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
after the collapse of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
from
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The town was almost entirely
ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
, however, and was ceded to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
along with the rest of the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
after the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...
in 1938. In 1943, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, two forced labor camps were set up in the area by
Organization Schmelt Organization Schmelt was a Nazi SS organization that ran a system of forced-labor camps with mostly Jewish prisoners. It originated in East Upper Silesia, but spread to the Sudetenland and other areas. Many of its camps were later absorbed into c ...
. These camps provided workers for the Tannwald Textile Works and an
ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
factory (''Deutsche Industriewerke AG'') that produced
hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s and other military material for the
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
of Germany. The camps became subcamps of
Gross-Rosen Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Rogoźnica in ...
in October 1944. Female prisoners were transported to Kratzau from
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
, as well as from other Gross-Rosen subcamps that were being evacuated. By then the subcamps included Polish, Czech, French, Belgian, Dutch and Danish women. As more women arrived from the evacuated Gross-Rosen subcamps conditions at Kratzau worsened. Zenon Lis, who was a child at the time, has said the food at Kratzau was "poor and varied at different times: black coffee, dry bread,
rutabaga Rutabaga (; North American English) or swede (British English and some Commonwealth English) is a root vegetable, a form of ''Brassica napus'' (which also includes rapeseed). Other names include Swedish turnip, neep (Scots), and turnip (Scott ...
soup, a potato on rare occasions, and a piece of
liverwurst Liverwurst, leberwurst, or liver sausage is a kind of sausage made from liver. It is eaten in many parts of Europe, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Polan ...
on exceptional ones".
Joseph Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = '' SS''-''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , commands = , s ...
is known to have visited Kratzau three times between October 1944 and March 1945 to conduct a "selection"; after each of these visits the selected women were sent to a subcamp in
Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...
. After the German population was expelled in 1945–1947, Chrastava was resettled mainly by
Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...
.


Demographics


Economy

The largest employed with its headquarters in the town is a branch of the
Benteler International Benteler International AG (BENTELER) is a holding company in German family ownership. The Group companies operate worldwide in the fields of automotive technology, steel and tube production and engineering. The headquarters of Benteler International ...
company, focused on the production of automotive parts. The factory was built in 1999 and employs about 600 people.


Transport

Chrastava lies on the railway line
Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preser ...
Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...
Varnsdorf Varnsdorf (; german: Warnsdorf, hsb, Warnoćicy) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany. Administrative parts Villages of Studánka and Světliny 1.díl ...
.


Sights

The landmark of Chrastava is the Church of Saint Lawrence. It was originally a wooden church from the 14th century. A massive stone tower was added at the end of the 16th century. The church was rebuilt into its current pseudo-Gothic form in 1866–1868. The baroque rectory next to the church dates from 1739.


Notable people

*
Leopold Alois Hoffmann Leopold Alois Hoffmann (29 January 1760 – 2 September 1806) was an Austrian writer and dramatist. He was based for most of his career in Vienna. As the "secret state" elements of the Habsburg empire evolved, especially in Vienna itself, during t ...
(1760–1806), Austrian writer *
Joseph von Führich Joseph von Führich (fully Josef Ritter von Führich) (9 February 1800 – 13 March 1876) was an Austrian painter, one of the Nazarenes. Biography He was born at Kratzau (today Chrastava) in Bohemia. Deeply impressed as a boy by rustic pict ...
(1800–1876), Austrian painter *
Wilhelm Kandler Wilhelm Kandler ( cs, Vilém Kandler; 28 February 1816 in Chrastava – 18 May 1896 in Prague) was a German Bohemian painter, illustrator, engraver and amateur essayist. Biography Kandler was the son of a gilder and painter who later fell ill ...
(1816–1896), German Bohemian painter * Theodor Körner (1873–1957), Austrian politician, President of Austria in 1951–1957; grew up here *
Willi Sitte Willi Sitte (28 February 1921 – 8 June 2013) was a German painter who was for a long time the president of the East German association of visual artists. References * Wolfgang Hütt: ''Willi Sitte''. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1976. *Robert R ...
(1921–2013), German painter


Twin towns – sister cities

Chrastava is twinned with: *
Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
, Germany *
Lwówek Śląski Lwówek Śląski (; german: Löwenberg in Schlesien; szl, Ślůnski Lwůwek) is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Situated on the Bóbr River, Lwówek Śląski is about NNW of Jelenia Góra and has a population of about 9,000 i ...
, Poland


References


External links

*
Virtual show
{{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Liberec District Holocaust locations in Czechoslovakia