Osečná
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Osečná (; german: Oschitz) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. Lázně Kundratice, a part of Osečná, is known as a spa village.


Administrative parts

The villages of Chrastná, Druzcov, Kotel, Lázně Kundratice, Vlachové and Zábrdí are administrative parts of Osečná.


Etymology

The name of the town is derived from the word ('truncate'), which is an activity that people had to do before they could build the town – to truncate the forest.


Geography

Osečná is located about southwest 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 ...
. It lies in the
Ralsko Uplands Ralsko (german: Roll) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It comprises area of the former military training area with Hradčany Air Base. Because of the former military ...
. The highest point is at above sea level. The town is situated on the
Ploučnice The Ploučnice (german: Polzen) is a river in the Czech Republic. It is a tributary of the Elbe, which it flows into in Děčín. It is long, and its basin area is about , of which in the Czech Republic. References External links * Horáčko ...
River, which originates here. Chrastenský Waterfall is located on the river west of the town. There are several fishponds around the town. Half of the ''Čertova zeď'' ("Devil's wall") National Nature Monument is situated in the municipal territory. It is the remains of a basalt vein from the Tertiary. According to legend, the devil built it.


History

Osečná was most likely founded in the first half of the 13th century, along the trade route which led from the town of Český Dub to Děvín Castle. The founders of Osečná was probably the Wartenberg noble family. In 1234, Osečná area became property of King Ottokar II, then after his death, his son,
Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...
, inherited his property. In 1306, Osečná returned to the Wartenbergs. The first written mention of a wooden church in Osečná is from 1350 and the first written mention of the settlement is from 1352.


16th–18th centuries

In 1516, the Bieberstein family bought Osečná and Děvín Castle. On 8 April 1565, Charles the Bieberstein laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new stone church. Construction took three years. In 1548, the town
chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
was developed. At the end of the 16th century, Charles Bieberstein sold Osečná and other villages to Jan Oppersdorf. The year 1576 was very important, when Emperor
Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...
promoted Osečná to a town and it got the law to use an urban character and the seal. The
griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
with the golden crown and with the golden armor on the red background is on the Osečná's urban character. On the bottom there was a phrase, ''"Sigillum oppidum ossensis 1576"''. Osečná had the right to brew beer too and could perform executions until 1769. The executions were held on the hill, which was called ''Galgenberg / Šibeničák'' ("Gallows Hill)". Zikmund Smiřický, who bought Osečná in 1591, donated the brewery to the town in 1598 so that Osečná could brew its own beer. In 1618, Albrecht Jan Smiřický protested against Emperor Ferdinand II, and this had serious consequences. After the Battle of White Mountain, Albrecht von Wallenstein, who had the Duchy of Frýdlant, got this property. The inhabitants of Osečná had to accept Catholicism and they had to pay for a
parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...
from Český Dub too, but they refused. In 1653, the people from Osečná announced the recatholisation, what means they converted back to the Roman Catholic faith. In 1634, when Albrecht von Wallenstein was killed, his property reverted to Emperor Ferdinand II, who bequeathed it to General Jan Ludvík Hektor in recognition of his military service. When he died, his daughter Regina inherited his property, and she went to Vienna's Saint Jacob Convent in 1643, where she became Mother Superior, and donated her manor to this monastery. Therefore, Osečná belonged for the next 130 years to this convent in Vienna. On 5 November 1643, the
Swedish army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...
arrived to the Osečná and it destroyed much of the town. They destroyed the town hall, robbed the church, and burned the brewery. It never has been restored.


19th–21st centuries

Osečná suffered many fires during its history. The largest fire broke in the town on 14 June 1825 when almost the entire town burnt. 25 houses, town hall and the tower of church succumbed to the fire, and five church bells in the tower completely melted. On 6 August 1838, Duke Kamil Rohan from Sychrov bought the Český Dub estate. In 1870, he had the family blazon installed above the entryway to the church, which is still on the same place. On this blazon is written one of the main mottos of the Rohans: ''"Potius mori quam foedar"'', what means: "Is better to die than to betray". On 17 October 2006, the town status was returned to Osečná.


Demographics


Economy

The Kundratice spa was established as part of the town of Osečná in 1881 and is one of the oldest spas in Bohemia where bog is used as a natural healing source. In particular,
rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
, diseases of the backbone and discs, and
arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...
are treated here, as well as others.


Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.


Sights

The Church of Saint Vitus was built on the site of an old wooden church in late Gothic and Renaissance styles in 1565–1568. The town hall dates from 1704, and the Marian column in the middle of the town square was built in 1720–1730. A valuable sculpture group is the Statue of the Three Saints ( John, Paul and
Lutgardis Lutgardis of Aywières ( nl, Sint-Ludgardis; 1182 – 16 June 1246; also spelled Lutgarde) is a saint from the medieval Low Countries. She was born in Tongeren, known as Tongres in French (which is why she is also called Lutgardis of Tongres or ...
). It dates from 1714. The former Šibeničák hill is now informally called ''Schillerova výšina'' ("Schiller's Height") and the monument of
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
is located there. In Kotel there are protected
lime trees ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...
. The biggest one, called the Millennial Lime Tree, is the most massive tree in the region with a height of and a trunk circumference of .


Twin towns – sister cities

Osečná is twinned with: *
Krotoszyce Krotoszyce (; german: Kroitsch) is a village in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Krotoszyce. It lies approximately south-west of Legnica and w ...
, Poland *
Markersdorf Markersdorf ( hsb, Markoćicy) is a municipality in the district Görlitz, Saxony, Germany. ''Markersdorf'' is also the former German name of Markocice, a small township in Poland which lies about 25 kilometres directly to the south, near Bogaty ...
, Germany


References


External links

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