Jihlava
Encyclopedia
Jihlava (ˈjɪɦlava; ) is a city in the Czech Republic
. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region
, situated on the Jihlava river (German Igel) on the ancient frontier between Moravia
and Bohemia
, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora
.
Among the principal buildings are the early gothic churches of St. Jacob, Friars Minor church of Our Lady and Dominican church of Holy Cross, baroque church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Municipal Hall and number of municipal houses containing gothic and renaissance details. There is also a Jewish cemetery, containing some remarkable monuments including tombstone of the parents of Gustav Mahler
.
settlement upon a ford was moved on a nearby hill where the mining town was founded (ca. 1240) by king Václav I, in the Middle Ages
inhabited mostly by Germans (coming mostly from Northern Bavaria
and Upper Saxony
). Medieval mines surrounded by mining settlement were localized outside the walls of medieval town (local name Stare Hory). According to legend, the silver mines were worked as early as 799
. There is, however, no historical evidence for such statements.
In the era of the Hussite Wars
, Jihlava remained a Catholic
stronghold and managed to resist a number of sieges. Later at Jihlava, on July 5, 1436, the treaty was made with the Hussites, by which the emperor Sigismund
was acknowledged king of Bohemia. A marble relief near the town marks the spot where Ferdinand I
, in 1527, swore fidelity to the Bohemian estates.
During the Thirty Years' War
Jihlava was twice captured by the Swedes
. In 1742 it fell into the hands of the Prussians, and in December 1805 the Bavaria
ns under Wrede
were defeated near the town. In 1860 it became the childhood home of Bohemia
n-Austria
n composer
Gustav Mahler
, who retained his ties to the town until the death of both of his parents in 1889.
Until World War I
the town was an important Austro-Hungarian Army
military centre. In 1914 the I, II and III. Battalion of the Moravian Infantry Regiment No. 81 (Bataillon des Mährischen Infanterie-Regiments Nummer. 81) and the Second Battalion of the Landwehr infantry regiment number 14 (II. Bataillon des Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 14) were the garrison troops.
After World War I
the town constituted a German language
island (Sprachinsel) within Slavic
speaking Moravia
. This affected local politics as it remained the centre of the second largest German-speaking enclave in the republic of Czechoslovakia
(after Schönhengst/Hřebečsko). After the Czechoslovak Republic
was proclaimed on 28 October 1918, the indigenous Germans
of Bohemia
and Moravia
, claiming the right to self-determination according to the 10th of President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points
, demanded that their homeland areas remain with the new Austria
n State. The Volksdeutsche
of Iglau / Jihlava relied on peaceful opposition to the Czech military occupation of their region, a process that started on 31 October 1918 and was completed on 28 January 1919. Thereafter extremist political figures like Hans Krebs
, editor of the Iglauer Volkswehr newspaper, became prominent with the rise of Nazism
and the Nazi occupation (1939–1945).
The area remained, until the end of World War II
, a distinctive regional folk culture reflecting hundreds of years of local customs. The town dialect of German was a unique branch of Mitteldeutsch. Musicians often used homemade instruments and original groups of four fiddles (Vierergruppen Fiedeln) and Ploschperment. Typical folk dances were the Hatschou, Tuschen and Radln. Peasant women like wearing old "pairische" Scharkaröckchen costumes with shiny dark skirts and big red cloths.
After the end of World War II
, and following the Beneš decrees
, these German speaking Moravians
were evicted; it is estimated that hundreds died on the arduous trek to Austria.
The town was repopulated with Czech and Moravian
settlers favoured by the new Communist regime. After 1951, the town was the site of several Communist show trials, which were directed against the influence of the Roman Catholic Church on the rural population. In the processes eleven death sentences were passed and 111 years of prison sentences imposed. All the convicted persons were rehabilitated after the Velvet Revolution
.
In protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia
in 1969 Evzen Plocek set himself on fire in the town marketplace in emulation of others in Prague
. Today there is a memorial plaque to him.
Since the total collapse of Communism
in the 1990s the share of employment in agriculture has steadily declined. The industrial sector of the town now employs 65 percent of all workers. In 2004 the Polytechnic Jihlava was set up and now has about 600 students.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region
Vysocina Region
Vysočina Region , is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located partly in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia and partly in the south-west of the historical region of Moravia...
, situated on the Jihlava river (German Igel) on the ancient frontier between Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
and Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora is a city in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic in the Central Bohemian Region.-History:The town began in 1142 with the settlement of the first Cistercian Monastery in Bohemia, Kloster Sedlitz, brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey...
.
Among the principal buildings are the early gothic churches of St. Jacob, Friars Minor church of Our Lady and Dominican church of Holy Cross, baroque church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Municipal Hall and number of municipal houses containing gothic and renaissance details. There is also a Jewish cemetery, containing some remarkable monuments including tombstone of the parents of Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
.
History
The city's German name, Iglau, is derived from the German word for hedgehog, Igel, hence the hedgehog on the coat of arms. An old SlavicSlavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
settlement upon a ford was moved on a nearby hill where the mining town was founded (ca. 1240) by king Václav I, in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
inhabited mostly by Germans (coming mostly from Northern Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and Upper Saxony
Upper Saxony
Upper Saxony was a name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Mitteldeutschland....
). Medieval mines surrounded by mining settlement were localized outside the walls of medieval town (local name Stare Hory). According to legend, the silver mines were worked as early as 799
799
Year 799 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 799 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Religion :* 29 November – Pope Leo III, aided...
. There is, however, no historical evidence for such statements.
In the era of the Hussite Wars
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
, Jihlava remained a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
stronghold and managed to resist a number of sieges. Later at Jihlava, on July 5, 1436, the treaty was made with the Hussites, by which the emperor Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
was acknowledged king of Bohemia. A marble relief near the town marks the spot where Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
, in 1527, swore fidelity to the Bohemian estates.
During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
Jihlava was twice captured by the Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. In 1742 it fell into the hands of the Prussians, and in December 1805 the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
ns under Wrede
Wrede
Wrede may refer to:*Fabian Wrede , an advisor to King Charles XI, King of Sweden**Carl Gustaf Fabian Wrede, governor of Vaasa province in Finland.**Mathilda Wrede , evangelist and a baroness, daughter of Fabian...
were defeated near the town. In 1860 it became the childhood home of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n-Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, who retained his ties to the town until the death of both of his parents in 1889.
Until World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the town was an important Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
military centre. In 1914 the I, II and III. Battalion of the Moravian Infantry Regiment No. 81 (Bataillon des Mährischen Infanterie-Regiments Nummer. 81) and the Second Battalion of the Landwehr infantry regiment number 14 (II. Bataillon des Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 14) were the garrison troops.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the town constituted a German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
island (Sprachinsel) within Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
speaking Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. This affected local politics as it remained the centre of the second largest German-speaking enclave in the republic of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
(after Schönhengst/Hřebečsko). After the Czechoslovak Republic
Czechoslovak Republic
Czechoslovak Republic was the official name of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1938 and between 1945 and 1960. See*First Czechoslovak Republic*Second Czechoslovak Republic...
was proclaimed on 28 October 1918, the indigenous Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, claiming the right to self-determination according to the 10th of President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points
Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a speech given by United States President Woodrow Wilson to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918. The address was intended to assure the country that the Great War was being fought for a moral cause and for postwar peace in Europe...
, demanded that their homeland areas remain with the new Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n State. The Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
of Iglau / Jihlava relied on peaceful opposition to the Czech military occupation of their region, a process that started on 31 October 1918 and was completed on 28 January 1919. Thereafter extremist political figures like Hans Krebs
Hans Krebs (National Socialist)
Hans Krebs was a Moravian Nazi Party member and SS-Brigadeführer from Czechoslovakia.-Career:Hans Krebs was born in the ancient town Jihlava in Moravia when it was part of the Habsburg Empire and was involved in the German nationalistic movements from his youth...
, editor of the Iglauer Volkswehr newspaper, became prominent with the rise of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and the Nazi occupation (1939–1945).
The area remained, until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a distinctive regional folk culture reflecting hundreds of years of local customs. The town dialect of German was a unique branch of Mitteldeutsch. Musicians often used homemade instruments and original groups of four fiddles (Vierergruppen Fiedeln) and Ploschperment. Typical folk dances were the Hatschou, Tuschen and Radln. Peasant women like wearing old "pairische" Scharkaröckchen costumes with shiny dark skirts and big red cloths.
After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and following the Beneš decrees
Beneš decrees
Decrees of the President of the Republic , more commonly known as the Beneš decrees, were a series of laws that were drafted by the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II and issued by President...
, these German speaking Moravians
Moravians (ethnic group)
Moravians are the modern West Slavic inhabitants of the historical land of Moravia, the easternmost part of the Czech Republic, which includes the Moravian Slovakia. They speak the two main groups of Moravian dialects , the transitional Bohemian-Moravian dialect subgroup and standard Czech...
were evicted; it is estimated that hundreds died on the arduous trek to Austria.
The town was repopulated with Czech and Moravian
Moravians (ethnic group)
Moravians are the modern West Slavic inhabitants of the historical land of Moravia, the easternmost part of the Czech Republic, which includes the Moravian Slovakia. They speak the two main groups of Moravian dialects , the transitional Bohemian-Moravian dialect subgroup and standard Czech...
settlers favoured by the new Communist regime. After 1951, the town was the site of several Communist show trials, which were directed against the influence of the Roman Catholic Church on the rural population. In the processes eleven death sentences were passed and 111 years of prison sentences imposed. All the convicted persons were rehabilitated after the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
.
In protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in 1969 Evzen Plocek set himself on fire in the town marketplace in emulation of others in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. Today there is a memorial plaque to him.
Since the total collapse of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in the 1990s the share of employment in agriculture has steadily declined. The industrial sector of the town now employs 65 percent of all workers. In 2004 the Polytechnic Jihlava was set up and now has about 600 students.
Twin towns — sister cities
Jihlava currently is twinned with:- Purmerend
PurmerendPurmerend is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. The city became the trade center of the region but the population grew relatively slow. Only after 1960 did the population...
,
NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. - Heidenheim an der Brenz,
GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. - Eilenburg
EilenburgEilenburg is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Nordsachsen in the Free State of Saxony, approximately 20 km northeast of the city of Leipzig.- Geography :...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. - SisakSisakSisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
,
CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
Famous people
- Patrik AugustaPatrik AugustaPatrik Augusta is a retired ice hockey winger.He was drafted 149th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft and played two games for the Leafs and two games for the Washington Capitals...
(1969†) – Czech Ice Hockey player - Paul Ignaz Bayer (b. 1656) – Bohemian Architect and builder
- Vincenc František Faltis (b.1856) – Czech conductor
- Louis Fürnberg (b. 1909) – German writer, poet and musician
- Barbara Krafft (b. 1764) – Austrian painter
- Hans KrebsHans Krebs (National Socialist)Hans Krebs was a Moravian Nazi Party member and SS-Brigadeführer from Czechoslovakia.-Career:Hans Krebs was born in the ancient town Jihlava in Moravia when it was part of the Habsburg Empire and was involved in the German nationalistic movements from his youth...
(b.1888) – National Socialist politician. - Gustav MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
(b. 1860) – Austrian/German composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Jára Pospisil (b. 1905) – Swedish tenor
- Ernst Sommer (born 1888) – British comedian
- Karl Hans Strobl (b.* 1877) – Austrian writer
- Johann von Tomaschek (b. 1822) – Canadian writer
- Julius TandlerJulius TandlerJulius Tandler was a physician and Social Democratic politician in Vienna, Austria. He is considered a leading personality of Red Vienna....
(b. 1869) – Physician and politician - Charles Tomaschek (b. 1828) – Austrian Germanist
- Luboš Urban (b. 1957) – Czech football player and manager
- Richard Maria Werner (b. 1854) – Austrian Germanist
- Peter Pauspertl von Drachenthal (b. 1566) Town councilor and supporters of the cloth-makers guild.
Literature
- Peter von Chlumecký: Die Regesten oder die chronologischen Verzeichnisse der Urkunden in den Archiven zu Iglau […]. Nitsch & Grosse, Brünn 1856 (Digitalisat)
- Martin Leupold von Löwenthal: Chronik der Königlichen Stadt Iglau (1402–1607). Hrsg. v. Christian d' Elvert. Brünn 1861 (Digitalisat)
- Alois Pokorny: Die Vegetationsverhältnisse von Iglau. Ein Beitrag zur Pflanzengeographie des böhmisch-mährischen Gebirges. Wien 1852 (Digitalisat)
- Andreas Sterly: Drangsale der Stadt Iglau unter der schwedischen Zwingherrschaft. Iglau 1828 (Digitalisat)
- Johann Achatzi: Iglauer Heimatbuch. Gemeinschaft Iglauer Sprachinsel e.V. 1962