Osoblaha (; german: Hotzenplotz; pl, Osobłoga) is a municipality and village in

Bruntál District Bruntál District ( cs, okres Bruntál) is a district (''okres'') within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Bruntál, but the largest town is Krnov. Part of the district belongs to Moravia, while another part belongs to ...

in the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region ( cs, Moravskoslezský kraj; pl, Kraj morawsko-śląski; sk, Moravsko-sliezsky kraj) is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region ( cs, Ostravský ...

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 1,100 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Osoblaha is made up of one administrative part.

Etymology

The Czech name of the village came from Latin names of two local watercourses,

Osoblaha Osoblaha (; german: Hotzenplotz; pl, Osobłoga) is a municipality and village in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,100 inhabitants. Administrative parts Osoblaha is made up of one administrati ...

and Planá, in Latin ''Ossa'' and ''Plavia''. The German name "Hotzenplotz" was derived from German ''Holzen Platz'' (literally "wooden place") and has its origin in oak forests in the area. It served the German writer

Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler (sometimes spelled as Otfried Preussler; both ; born Otfried Syrowatka; 20 October 1923 – 18 February 2013) was a German literature, German Children's literature, children's books author. More than 50 million copies of his books ...

for naming his famous children's book character of "

The Robber Hotzenplotz The Robber Hotzenplotz ( ) is a character created by German author Otfried Preußler for his children's book series of the same name. There are three tales about Hotzenplotz: * ''The Robber Hotzenplotz'' (1962) * ''News from the Robber Hotzenplot ...

Geography

Osoblaha lies in the Osoblažsko microregion on 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 is located in the Opava Hilly Land within the

Silesian Lowlands Silesian Lowlands (or Silesian Plains, pl, Nizina Śląska, cs, Slezská nížina, german: Schlesische Niederung) are lowlands located in Silesia, Poland in Central Europe. A small part is located in the Czech Republic. It is part of the Centra ...

. The

River flows through the municipality. In the territory of Osoblaha lies the former village of Studnice, which is abandoned since 1971.

History

The first written mention of Osoblaha is from 1233. The village gained the town rights in 1251, which opened the way for its subsequent economical development. The Jewish population in Osoblaha was first documented in the 14th century. During the 19th century they made up 30% of the town's population. However, they left the town before the World War II. According to 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: ...

census of 1910 the town had 2,853 inhabitants, almost all of declared themselves to be German-speaking, though this includes most Yiddish-speaking

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, who were not allowed to enter

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

as a separate language. The main religious groups were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

with 2,779 (97.4%), followed by

with 58 (2%). From 1938 to 1945 it was annexed 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 administered as a part of

Reichsgau Sudetenland The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the '' Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from Czechoslovakia according to the 30 September 1938 Munich Agreement. ...

. Although Osoblaha was the first town in the Czech lands to be liberated in March 1945, the bitter fighting caused the destruction of 90% of all buildings. The German population was expelled and the town became significantly depopulated. In 1960 the municipality lost its town status.

Demographics

Transport

Osoblaha is the final stop of the narrow-gauge

Třemešná ve Slezsku – Osoblaha Railway The Třemešná ve Slezsku – Osoblaha Railway is a narrow-gauge railway connecting Třemešná on the Krnov– Głuchołazy line with Osoblaha on the Czech-Polish border. It is one of the three remaining narrow gauge railway lines with regula ...

Sights

The most important monument is the Jewish cemetery, which is one of the most valuable in the Czech Republic. It was probably founded at the end of the 14th century and 313 tombstones have been preserved, the oldest of them dates from 1694. Other monuments are the Baroque cemetery Church of Saint Nicholas built in 1756–1766, and a tiny remnant of the medieval town walls. The narrow-gauge railway serves not only for transport but also as a tourist attraction.

Steam trains A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the Tractive force#Rail vehicles, force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rar ...

run on weekends during the tourist season.

Notable people

* Berthold Englisch (1851–1897), Austrian chess master

Twin towns – sister cities

Osoblaha is twinned with: *

Izbicko Izbicko (German: Stubendorf) is a village in Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Izbicko, which has been bilingual in Polish and German since 2006. It li ...

, Poland

References

External links

* {{authority control Shtetls Villages in Bruntál District