Osoblaha

Osoblaha (Czech pronunciation: [ˈosoblaɦa]; German: Hotzenplotz; Yiddish: האָצ׳פּלאָץ‎ (Hotz'plotz, Hots'plots); Polish: Osobłoga) is a village in the Bruntál District of Czech Silesia in the Czech Republic in Osoblaha Hook. From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland. The village is named after the Osoblaha River of the same name.

Osoblaha
Village
Jewish Cemetery
Flag
Coat of arms
Osoblaha
Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°16′N 17°43′E
CountryCzech Republic
RegionMoravian-Silesian
DistrictBruntál
First mentioned1233
Government
 • MayorAntonín Rous
Area
 • Total25.79 km2 (9.96 sq mi)
Elevation
220 m (720 ft)
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total1,125
 • Density44/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
793 99
Websitewww.osoblaha.cz

Osoblaha municipality is situated in the northern part of the microregion, and is the final stop of the narrow-gauge railway.

History

The first mention of Osoblaha dates back to 1233. The town gained its municipal rights in 1251, which opened the way for its subsequent economical development. However, small-town prosperity (Osoblaha had a population of nearly 5000 in the 1930s) was halted by World War II. Although Osoblaha was the first town in the Czech lands to be liberated by Soviet troops on 22 March 1945, the bitter fighting caused the destruction of 90% of all buildings. The German name of the municipality is "Hotzenplotz"; it served the German writer Otfried Preussler for naming his famous children's book character of "Hotzenplotz the Robber".

According to the Austrian census of 1910 the town had 2,853 inhabitants, 2,759 of whom had permanent residence there. The census asked people for their native language: 2,754 (99.8%) declared themselves to be German-speaking, though this includes most Yiddish-speaking Jews, who were not allowed to enter Yiddish as a separate language. The main religious groups were Roman Catholics with 2,779 (97.4%), followed by Jews with 58 (2%).[2]

The most important monument in the centre of the municipality is the Jewish Cemetery. The cemetery is unique in the Czech Republic because of the gravestones ("matzeva") designed in the "Silesian style". This type of tombstones typically uses ornamentation dating back as far as 1694. Remains of former town fortifications from the 16th century can be seen in the town. Of the other Osoblaha monuments, one might mention the St. Nicholas Church behind the town towards Studnice village which, together with the empire fountain on the square, is one of the last monuments to attest the town's original architectural style.

In the 1870s, the owners of the sugar refinery in Osoblaha wanted a railway connection for purposes of trade.[3] From financial point of view, the best alternative was a connection to the railway network in neighbouring Prussia. However, the government in Vienna refused this on political and military grounds. On 14. December 1898 a narrow gauge railway line from Třemešná was opened.

Notable people
  • Berthold Englisch (1851–1897), Austrian chess master
  • Oskar Gutwinski (1873–1932), mountaineer and ski pioneer

Twin towns — sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Osoblaha is twinned with:[4]

See also

References
  1. "Population of municipalities of the Czech Republic". Czech Statistical Office. 1 January 2020.
  2. Ludwig Patryn (ed): Die Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910 in Schlesien, Troppau 1912.
  3. Schreier, Pavel (2004). Zrození železnic v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku. Praha: Baset. p. 242. ISBN 80-7340-034-0.
  4. "Úvodní strana". osoblaha.cz (in Czech). Obec Osoblaha. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
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