Horní Bříza (german: Ober Birken) is a town in

Plzeň-North District Plzeň-North District ( cs, okres Plzeň-sever) is a district (''okres'') within Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is Plzeň. The most populated municipality of the district is Nýřany. List of municipalities Bdeně ...

in the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region ( cs, Plzeňský kraj; german: Pilsner Region) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň (English, german: Pilsen). In terms of area, Plzeň Reg ...

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 4,100 inhabitants.

Geography

Horní Bříza is located about north of

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

. It lies in the

Plasy Uplands Plasy (; german: Plass) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is known for its former monastery. Administrative parts Villages of Babina, Horní Hradiště, Lomnička, Neb ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The Bělá Stream flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Horní Bříza is from 1180. Around 1220, the village was donated to the

Plasy Plasy (; german: Plass) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is known for its former monastery. Administrative parts Villages of Babina, Horní Hradiště, Lomnička, Neb ...

Monastery. The appearance of Horní Bříza changed after the great fire in 1865 and also with the construction of the railway line in the years 1871–1873. However, a significant turning point did not occur until the 1880s, when

kaolin Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

was discovered here. In 1882, Johann Fitz, a prominent businessman and mining expert from

Rokycany Rokycany (; german: Rokitzan) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument ...

, began with its mining. In 1886, he introduced the production of ceramic goods and founded a company which maintained dominant position in the ceramics industry for hundred years.

World War II

During World War II, some death trains taking Jews, outspoken people, gypsies, intellectuals, communists and Russian prisoners travelled through Horní Bříza. It was on the route to

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

, further south on the Danube River. On 21 April 1945, a death train stopped here as the line was blocked. The station master Antonín Pavlíček intervened and organized the townspeople to cook food and bread for the about 1,000 women being taken to Mauthausen. He asked the SS to leave the people there so the town could care for them, but they refused. A townswoman gave one of the women who had just given birth her own hand-sown

layette A layette is a collection of clothing and accessories for a newborn child. The term "layette set" is commonly used in the United States to refer to sets of baby clothes. In the 1920s, expectant mothers or their friends and relatives frequently kn ...

planned for her baby.

Demographics

Twin towns – sister cities

Horní Bříza is twinned with: *

Villeneuve-sur-Yonne Villeneuve-sur-Yonne () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It is surrounded by a partly intact wall, built during the 12th century, which was one of the 8 residences of the French kings. Ge ...

, France

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horni Briza Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Plzeň-North District