Product Code Database
Chrastava (; ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,300 inhabitants.
Chrastava, then known mostly by the German name Kratzau, was occupied by the Hussites who use the town as a base for expeditions into Lusatia during the Hussite Wars. In 1433, the local castle and the whole town was conquered and damaged. This caused general decline, departure of population and stagnation of trade, which lasted for several decades.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, ore mining in Chrastava declined, when most of the reserves had already been mined. The population therefore gradually reoriented to the textile industry. The first large textile factory was built in 1815. In 1859, the railway was built.
Chrastava became part of Czechoslovakia after the collapse of Austria-Hungary from World War I. The town was almost entirely ethnic German, however, and was ceded to Nazi Germany and administered as part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland after the Munich Agreement in 1938.
In 1943, during World War II, two forced labor camps were set up in the area by Organization Schmelt. These camps provided workers for the Tannwald Textile Works and an ammunition factory ( Deutsche Industriewerke AG) that produced and other military material for the Wehrmacht of Germany. The camps became subcamps of Gross-Rosen in October 1944. Female prisoners were transported to Kratzau from Auschwitz, as well as from other Gross-Rosen subcamps that were being evacuated. By then the subcamps included Polish, Czech, French, Belgian, Dutch and Danish women.
As more women arrived from the evacuated Gross-Rosen subcamps, conditions at Kratzau worsened. Josef Mengele is known to have visited Kratzau three times between October 1944 and March 1945 to conduct a "selection"; after each of these visits the selected women were sent to a subcamp in Zittau.
After the German population was expelled in 1945–1947, Chrastava was resettled mainly by Czechs.
Chrastava is located on the railway line Liberec–Zittau–Varnsdorf.
The town hall was built in the second half of the 17th century, after the old town hall was destroyed by fires in 1621 and 1642. Its current appearance with Neoclassical elements dates from 1899.
The Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary is located in Horní Vítkov. It was built in the Baroque style in 1671.
The Church of Our Lady of the Snows is located in Andělská Hora. Its present Empire form dates from 1833.
Demographics
Economy
The largest employed with its headquarters in the town is a branch of the Benteler International company, focused on the production of automotive parts. The factory was built in 1999 and employs about 600 people.
Transport
The I/35 expressway (part of the European route E442) from Liberec to the Czech-German border passes through the town.
Sights
The main landmark of Chrastava is the Church of Saint Lawrence. It was originally a wooden church from the 14th century. A massive stone tower was added at the end of the 16th century. The church was rebuilt into its current pseudo-Gothic form in 1866–1868. The Baroque rectory next to the church dates from 1739.
Notable people
Twin towns – sister cities
Chrastava is Sister city with:
External links
|
|
