Tanvald (; german: Tannwald) is a town in Jablonec nad Nisou 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 6,000 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

The town part of Šumburk nad Desnou and the village of Žďár are administrative parts of Tanvald.

Etymology

The original German name means literally "

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

forest". The Czech name was created by transcription of the German name.

Geography

Tanvald is located about east of Jablonec nad Nisou. It lies in the Jizera Mountains. The highest point is the mountain Špičák at above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Kamenice, which flows along the southern municipal border, and Desná, which flows across the eastern part of the municipal territory.

History

The first written mention of Tanvald is from 1586, when it was described as a lumbering settlement. In 1895, the village was promoted to a market town and in 1905 to a town. In 1848, Žďár was joined to Tanvald. The first written mention of Šumburk nad Desnou is from the 17th century, it was probably founded between 1565 and 1581. In 1906, it was promoted to a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and in 1925 to a town. In 1942, Tanvald and Šumburk nad Desnou were merged into one municipality. From 1938 to 1945 Tanvald 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 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. ...

. The majority

Sudeten German German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

population was expelled in 1945. The town was then resettled with Czechs.

Demographics

Transport

The town has direct rail connection with

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Traffic on the railway line to Jelenia Góra in

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 ...

was restricted in 1945 (the trains terminated in Harrachov) and reinstated in 2010.

Koleje Dolnośląskie Koleje Dolnośląskie (Polish for ''Lower Silesian Railways''; KD) is a regional rail operator in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. The company was founded on 28 December 2007 by a decision of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik and i ...

D21 line runs from

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 ...

to Szklarska Poręba via the town.

Sport

On Špičák mountain there is a ski resort.

Sights

The landmark of the town is the Church of Saint

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

. It was built in the neo-Gothic style in 1899–1901. Špičák mountain is known for the Tanvaldský Špičák observation tower. This stone tower was built in 1909 and is high.

Notable people

Libor Němeček Libor Němeček (born 26 October 1968) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Career Němeček had some success as a junior in his native country. He won the Czechoslovakian Under-14s Championship and was later the doubl ...

(born 1968), tennis player and coach

Twin towns – sister cities

Tanvald is twinned with: *

Burbach Burbach is a name meaning "farmer's brook" (from Old High German ''bur'' "farmer" + ''bach'' "brook"). It can refer to: Places in Germany * Burbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, municipality in Siegen-Wittgenstein district * Burbach, Rhineland-Palati ...

, Germany *

Lubomierz Lubomierz (german: Liebenthal) 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 Lubomierz. It lies approximately south-west of Lw� ...

, Poland * Marcinowice, Poland * Wittichenau, Germany

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Jablonec nad Nisou District