Vratislavice
Encyclopedia
Liberec
Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....
, in the north of the Czech Republic
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....
. It has around 6,700 inhabitants and straddles the Nisa
Lusatian Neisse
The Lusatian Neisse is a long river in Central Europe. The river has its source in the Jizera Mountains near Nová Ves nad Nisou, Czech Republic, reaching the tripoint with Poland and Germany at Zittau after , and later forms the Polish-German border on a length of...
river between Liberec and Jablonec
Jablonec
Jablonec can refer to several towns in central Europe:*Jablonec nad Nisou, a town in Liberec Region, Czech Republic**FK Jablonec 97, a football club based in Jablonec nad Nisou*Jablonec, small village in Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic...
, around 3.5 km south-east of Liberec city centre.
History
The settlement of Wratislawicz was established, it is thought, in the 13th century by Bohemian colonists on the left bank of river Nisa. Very first written document mentioning this place comes from the 1460s which by this stage had a stone-walled church. The right bank of Nisa was settled (as an independent village) during the 16th century by German speaking people from SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, and called the village Meffersdorf after the settlers' home village.
These two villages possessed not only different names, but even belonged to different governances (Liberec, and Český Dub
Ceský Dub
Český Dub is a town in the Czech Republic.-External links:*...
. After 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....
the German name, mangled to Maffersdorf, became used for both places - the name Wratislawicz faded into obscurity.
Maffersdorf on the right bank (Liberec side) of Nisa continued to grow steadily. In 1701, building was finished on a new parish church, designed by a Prague architect Marco Antonio Canavelli.
In the second half of the 19th century industrial activity arrived to both villages. A carpet-making factory founded by Ignaz Ginzkey (and developed by his son Willy) achieved world renown. In 1924, Ginzkey equipped the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with the world's largest carpet. In 1871 Franz Peukert established a company that later developed into a familiar name in butcher's equipment. Eduard Stiassny founded porcelain production in the town in 1896.
After the discovery of a spring in 1862, the village on the left bank became involved in the spa business. In 1913, the owner of the spa, Rudolf, joined together with Weber, the owner of a mineral water source discovered in 1866. Afterwards in 1918, the spa in Maffersdorf was bought by the owner of the resort in Bad Liebwerda to promote competition.
In 1872, Reichenberger founded a public-owned brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
and maltworks in Maffersdorf, which became famous for its beer. The two settlements that belonged to the Bohemian governance of Liberec had 4,910 inhabitants between them. A local railway branch line was inaugurated on the 12th of July as a part of the Liberec-Jablonec-Tanvald railway route, leading to the building of two stations - Mattersdorf and Dörfel.
In 1901 both villages were merged into one market town (population 6,234 by 1934), and Czech inhabitants started to use currently known name Vratislavice. In 1903 it obtained full status as a town, and 1919 saw the area become part of the newly-founded country 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...
.
As a part of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
, the town was occupied and incorporated into the Third Reich, according the Munich Agreement followed in 1945 by the expulsion of nearly all of the almost exclusively German speaking inhabitants of the town by the Czechoslovak government.
In 1951, the town became connected to Liberec and Jablonec by a tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
project that had been proposed since 1900. In 1970, services on the tramway had been periodically discontinued due to the poor condition of the tracks. Nowadays, the streetcar route is operated by the local transportation company Dopravní podnik města Liberce.
Vratislavice was promoted to the status of town again in 1956, but in 1980 it became an administrative part of Liberec. Since 1989 there have been several attempts to renew the status of an independent town of Vratislavice.
Economy
After the dissolution of the Communist Party during the Velvet RevolutionVelvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
, some companies found the transition into the free-market economy very difficult. The well-known brewery, Vratislav was so run down that it was forced into closure in 1998. During a two-year dormancy the company was bought by the Hols firm, and with help of many friends of Mattersdorfer beer the brewery was put back into operation in summer of 2004, trading under the name of Konrad. In 2003, the Hols brewery produced 6,500,000 litres. In October 2004, a new classic car museum was opened in the grounds of the brewery.
Vratislavice is not only notable in drinks industry as a producer of beer; Vratislavická kyselka s.r.o., owned by UNIPO a.s. of Pardubice, produce mineral water (Vratislavická kyselka) and other alcohol-free beverages.
To this day, the brewery and carpet factory are the most important industries in Vratislavice.
Famous people
- Ginzkey family
- Ignaz Ginzkey (1818–1876, Maffersdorf), carpet magnate
- Wilhelm Ginzkey (1856–1934, Maffersdorf), whole industrialist
- Ignaz Ginzkey (1818–1876, Maffersdorf), carpet magnate
- Ferdinand PorscheFerdinand PorscheFerdinand Porsche was an Austrian automotive engineer and honorary Doctor of Engineering. He is best known for creating the first hybrid vehicle , the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles...
(1875–1951), car designer - Prof. Oskar BaudischOskar BaudischOskar Baudisch was an Austrian American biochemist and radiographer. He is mainly known for a chemical reaction that bears his name, the Baudisch reaction.-Early life and education:...
(1881–1950, La Jolla, California), German-American radiographer - Konrad HenleinKonrad HenleinKonrad Ernst Eduard Henlein was a leading pro-Nazi ethnic German politician in Czechoslovakia and leader of Sudeten German separatists...
(1898–1945), politician - Hans Molitor (1895–1945, New Jersey) Austrian-American pharmacologist
- Prof. Elisabeth Decht (born 1914), Austrian pianist and organist
- Walter Radetz (1926–1986), German author, editor, translator
- Roland Bulirsch (born 1932, Nová ruda (Neurode), Vratislavice), mathematician, grue upped here
- Prof. Roland Schneider (1939–2007) German JapanologistJapanologyJapanese Studies is a term generally used in Europe to describe the historical and cultural study of Japan; in North America, the academic field is usually referred to as Japanese studies, which includes contemporary social sciences as well as classical humanistic fields.European Japanology is the...