Frýdlant (; also known as Frýdlant v Čechách, german: Friedland in Böhmen) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region 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 7,400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages of Albrechtice u Frýdlantu and Větrov are administrative parts of Frýdlant.

Geography

Frýdlant 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 ...

, in a salient region of Frýdlant Hook, close to the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It lies mostly in the

Frýdlant Hills Frýdlant (; also known as Frýdlant v Čechách, german: Friedland in Böhmen) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law a ...

. The southern part of the municipal territory extends into the Jizera Mountains and includes the highest point of Frýdlant, the hill Špičák at above sea level. The

Smědá The Smědá (, german: Wittig, pl, Witka) is a river of the Czech Republic and Poland. A right tributary of the Neisse River with a length of 51.9 km (5.9 km within Poland) and basin area 331 km2 (60 km2 in Poland).Slavic ( Sorbian) tribes from

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 ...

from the 6th century onwards and in the 12th century was incorporated into the

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...

n (''Land Budissin'') territory, then held by the Margraves of Meissen. It belonged to the Lordship of Seidenberg (Zawidów), which in 1158 passed to King Vladislaus II.

13th–16th centuries

In the 13th century the castle was held by the Ronovci family until the middle of the century when Častolov of Ronov was forced to return the castle and other properties to King Ottokar II. The first written mention of Frýdlant is from 1278, when Rulko of Birbstein, also called Rudolf of Bieberstein, purchased the castle and surrounding land from the king. Rulko held property in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

and Upper Lusatia and family members held court positions. There were important trade routes through the area, including to Görlitz and to Lusatia. From Görlitz, the Via Regia provided routes to Russia, Spain, and throughout Europe. Perhaps as early as 1304, and definitely by 1381, a moat and curtain walls were constructed to surround and protect the town; these were largely removed in 1774. The Birbsteins (Biebersteins) supported King Sigmund 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 ...

(1419–1434). Frýdlant was taken by the Hussites in 1428. Between 1428 and 1433, the town was raided several times. Frydlant castle and town, also called Frýdlant Manor, went to Emperor Ferdinand I when Christopher, the last of the line of the Birbsteins, died in 1551. The castle went into the Redern family when Bedřich bought it in 1558. Since the ruler set the religion for an area at that time, Bedřich made Protestant churches and closed the Catholic church in Hejnice that had been the destination for religious pilgrimages. Several new villages were established and the production of linen cloth resulted in an economic boom during the initial years of the Redern family. Marco Spazzio di Lancio, an Italian architect hired by the family, expanded the castle in the 16th century.

17th–19th centuries

Christoph von Redern was considered a traitor when he opposed Emperor Ferdinand II and supported Frederick V after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. All of his property was then taken from him. Frýdlant then went to Albrecht von Wallenstein, who became Duke of Frýdlant and lived at Jičín. Wallenstein returned Catholicism to the area and held the lands until 1634, when he was assassinated. Frýdlant then went to Matthias Gallas of Campo as a reward for his fight against Wallenstein in 1636 by Emperor Ferdinand II. At the end of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, the castle was possessed by the Swedes. They constructed fortified barbicans and strengthened the defensive walls. In 1639, Christoph von Redern returned to Frydlant after a period of exile. One year later, the Swedes left Bohemia entirely. Due to the loss of religious freedom and Protestants being forced to adopt the Catholic religion, many exiles did not return to the area. The area continued to suffer through 1642. The estates remained with Matthias Gallas and the Gallas line until 1757. When Earl Philip Joseph Galas died without children, the estate went to Christian Philip Clam, his nephew, under the stipulation that going forward the family would assume the Gallas coat-of-arms and the family surname would be changed to Clam-Gallas. In 1800 or 1801, the Clam-Gallas family opened the castle to the public as a museum.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and his troops were in the town in 1813, to the detriment of the citizens of the town. A textile industry developed in the town in the 19th century. In 1899, the Plague Column was constructed in the memory of the victims of five plague epidemics. The town also survived several significant fires. In 1875, a railway line from

via Frýdlant to Zawidów was put into operation. Lines to

Mirsk Mirsk (german: Friedeberg am Queis) is a town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Mirsk, close to the Czech border. The town is situat ...

and the

Frýdlant–Heřmanice Railway In 1864, a committee for construction of a standard gauge railway line connecting Zittau - Reichenau (Bogatynia) - Frýdlant - Liegnitz ( Legnica) was established. Negotiations with governments and investors failed. In 1884, a narrow gauge rai ...

to Zittau followed soon.

20th century

Until 1918, ''Friedland in Böhmen'' was part of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

monarchy (

Cisleithania Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...

n side after the

Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

). It was the head of a district with the same name, one of the 94 '' Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in the Bohemian crown land. It remained with the Clam-Gallas family until the last descendant Clotilda, who died in 1982, having moved to Vienna in April 1945. Following the 1938

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 ...

, the town was occupied by

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 ...

and incorporated as ''Friedland (Isergebirge)'', one of the municipalities in Sudetenland. After

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 ...

, it fell back to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and renamed Frýdlant. The German-speaking population was expelled according to the

Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees, sk, Dekréty prezidenta republiky) and the Constitutional Decrees of the President of the Republic ( cz, Ústavní dekrety presidenta republiky, sk, Ústavné dekréty prezidenta republiky) were a series of laws drafted by t ...

and replaced by Czech settlers. In 2016, Georg Mederer and Erich Stenz, German treasure hunters, claimed that trucks delivered items from the amber chamber of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia to the castle in the late period of the war. They state that the items previously owned by

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

were stolen by the Nazis and stored in the castle cellars with contemporaneously constructed brick walls. The men further state that they have been unable to search for the stolen items due to the Czech government and the Czech National Heritage Institute.

Demographics

Sights

Frýdlant Castle and Château

The castle complex consists of the Gothic castle with a high tower and a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

château. There are exhibits, such as of Albrecht von Wallenstein, the

, and an armoury of 1,000 weapons used for military and hunting. The castle includes the Chapel of Saint Anne, the Knights' Hall, rooms for the count and countess, and a working kitchen.

Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross

The Church of the Holy Cross was built in the mid-16th century by Italian architects, which has a mixture of architectural styles due to construction over the years. A Renaissance style chapel for the Redern family tomb was built in 1566. A mausoleum was built for the Redern family in 1610.

Town hall and museum

In 1893, a new town hall was erected in the centre of the town on T. G. Masaryka Square according to plans by the architect Franz Neumann. Inside the town hall is a bust of Albrecht von Wallenstein, created by a sculptor from nearby

Raspenava Raspenava (; german: Raspenau) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. Geography Raspenava is located about north of Liberec, in a salient region of Frýdlant Hook. It lies mostly ...

. The building has stained glass windows and the exterior has statues of Self-Sacrifice and Justice. Nowadays, the Frýdlant Town Museum is located on the second floor with archaeological and historical exhibits.

Town fortifications

Several fragments of the town walls have been preserved, including torsos of three prismatic towers. The walls are almost circular in outline, built of local

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

In popular culture

The town's castle is believed to be the source of inspiration for '' The Castle'' (1926) by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

Notable people

Alexander Bittner Alexander Bittner (16 March 1850, in Friedland – 31 March 1902, in Vienna) was an Austrian paleontologist and geologist. Following graduation from the University of Vienna in 1873, he remained in Vienna as an assistant to Eduard Suess. In 1874 ...

(1850–1902), paleontologist and geologist *

Josef Blösche Josef Blösche (12 February 1912 – 29 July 1969) was a member of the Nazi Party who served in the SS and SD during World War II. Blösche shot and killed many Jews, and helped send many more Jews to their deaths in extermination camps. He als ...

(1912–1969), ''SS'' soldier *

Jan Budař Jan Budař (born 31 July 1977) is a Czech actor, director, singer, composer and script writer. Biography Budař was born in Frýdlant near Liberec. He graduated from the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno in 2000. He ...

(born 1977), actor, director and musician * Iva Mocová (born 1980), footballer *

Jan Rajnoch Jan Rajnoch (born 30 September 1981) is a Czech former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. Club career Rajnoch's career started at AC Sparta Prague's youth academy, playing with p ...

(born 1981), footballer *

Tomáš Plíhal Tomáš Plíhal (born 28 March 1983) is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for HC Vlci Jablonec nad Nisou of the Czech 2. liga. Plíhal played several seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks, ...

(born 1983), ice hockey player * Karolína Bednářová (born 1986), volleyball player *

Ladislav Šmíd Ladislav Šmíd (, born February 1, 1986) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who formerly played for HC Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). Before he moved to the ELH, he played in the National Hockey League (N ...

(born 1986), ice hockey player *

Antonín Hájek Antonín Hájek () (born 12 February 1987 in Frýdlant) is a retired ski jumper from the Czech Republic. His specialties include both individual ski jumping and ski flying. Hájek's best result in the World Cup is a fourth place in Tauplitz and S ...

(born 1987), ski jumper

Twin towns – sister cities

Frýdlant is twinned mainly with other towns sharing the historic German name ''Friedland'': * Friedland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany * Friedland, Lower Saxony, Germany * Friedland, Brandenburg, Germany *

Frýdlant nad Ostravicí Frýdlant nad Ostravicí (; german: Friedland (an der Ostrawitza)) is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. Administrative parts Frýdlant nad Ostravicí is made ...

, Czech Republic *

Korfantów Korfantów (german: Friedland in Oberschlesien, szl, Fyrlōnd), formerly known in Polish as Fryląd, is a town in the Opole Voivodeship of southwestern Poland, with 1,808 inhabitants (2019). In 1946 the town was renamed in honour of politician a ...

, Poland *

Mieroszów Mieroszów (german: Friedland in Niederschlesien) is a town in Wałbrzych County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina M ...

, Poland *

Pravdinsk Pravdinsk (, prior to 1946 known by its German name, ', pl, Frydląd, lt, Romuva), is a town and the administrative center of Pravdinsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. It is on the Lava River and is east of Bagrationovsk and sou ...

, Russia *

Siekierczyn Siekierczyn () (german: Geibsdorf) is a village in Lubań County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Siekierczyn. It lies approximately west of Lubań, and we ...

, Poland

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frydlant Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Liberec District