Kryštofovo Údolí

Kryštofovo Údolí
Municipality
General view of the village. Church of Saint Christopher visible on the right.
Flag Coat of arms
Kryštofovo Údolí
Coordinates: 50°46′24″N 14°55′56″E / 50.77333°N 14.93222°E / 50.77333; 14.93222Coordinates: 50°46′24″N 14°55′56″E / 50.77333°N 14.93222°E / 50.77333; 14.93222
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Liberec
District	Liberec
Government
• Mayor	Tomáš Zelený
Area
• Total	17.34 km2 (6.70 sq mi)
Elevation	375 m (1,230 ft)
Population  (2017)
• Total	352[1]
• Density	20/km2 (50/sq mi)
Postal code	460 01
Website	www.krystofovoudoli.eu/

Kryštofovo Údolí (German: Christofsgrund) is a village and municipality (obec) in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic.

Geographie[]

Kryštofovo Údolí is located in the far north of Bohemia ^[2] west of Liberec (Reichenberg). The place lies in the valley of the Rokytka (Eckersbach), also called Údolský potok in the northwest of the Jeschkengebirge. To the north rise the Dlouhá hora (Long Mountain, 748 m) and the Velký Vápenný (Great Limestone Mountain, 790 m), in the west the Kostelní vrch (Kirchberg, 505 m), Zdislavský Špičák (Spitzberg, 683 m) and the Malý Vápenný ( Kleiner Kalkberg, 687 m), south of the Zimův Kopec (561 m) and the Spálený vrch (Brandstein, 660 m). The ruins of the Hamrštejn Castle lie to the northeast above the Neisse valley. To the east of the village, the Liberec - Česká Lípa railway line runs through the mountains over several viaducts and tunnels. Over the Křižanské sedlo pass (Kriesdorfer Sattel, 576 m above sea level) you can also take a road to the next town of the same name, Křižany in the west.

History[]

The place arose in a left side valley of the Neisse as a charcoal settlement. According to legends, the settlement was founded in the 15th century by a charcoal burner named Christophorus. The settlements of Eckersbach and Holundergrund and Neuland, located along the brook, were first mentioned in 1518 as the property of the bailiff of the Upper Lusatia Wilhelm and part of the rule Lemberk Castle. At that time, silver and lead mining took place in the forests between Eckersbach, Christofsgrund and Neuland, but this was discontinued before 1750. In 1528 Wilhelm von Ilburg granted a for Holundergrund and Eckersbach. In 1581 Heinrich von der Berka und Duba bought the Lämberg estate. The hammer mill in Eckersbach was also mentioned. Together with Kriesdorf, Eckersbach was separated from Dohna von Lämberg under Nicholas II and attached to the rule Grafenstein. The valley was named `` Christophsgrund after his son Christoph von Dohna. Field names such as Zeche, Kuks, Schachtberg in Kryštofovo Údolí and Wolmschacht and Simmschacht in Novina are still reminiscent of mining. In 1632 the place consisted of 46 farms. In the course of the Counter Reformation after the Thirty Years War, a large part of the Protestant population left the place and Catholics were settled.

In 1826 the entrepreneurs Siegmund and Neuhäuser from Liberec (Reichenberg) built a textile factory below Christophsgrund on the Neisse near Hammerstein. Between 1852 and 1858 the main trunkroad from Kratzau / Chrastava to Oschitz / Osečná was built. In the years from 1856 to 1859 the railway from Reichenberg to Zittau was finished and a viaduct was built near the Hammerstein ruins. In 1900 the line of the was completed, now Christofsgrund was connected to the railway network of the Austria-Hungary-Monarchie. For this a 194 m long viaduct with 14 arches has to be constructed and the 818 m long Jeschken tunnel also was built.

The description of the regional chronicler Ressel from 1903–1905 contains the following description of the living conditions: ^[3] "The village of Kryštofovo Údolí has 169 houses, mostly made of wood and mostly covered with slate, with 883 mostly German residents. The people are very hard-working, but due to the low income opportunities ( which result from the remote location of the village) and due to the high mountainous location (339 m) they are very economical and partly engaged in arable farming and cattle breeding. The yields from arable farming are less profitable and, due to the steep slopes, very strenuous to cultivate. Many Fields can only be worked with spades. Fertilizers and seeds must be carried up the mountain slopes on their backs. The main products of agriculture are rye, Oats and potatoes, and a few beets are also grown. The number of animals in the place is 14 horses, 150 cattle, 30 goats, 20 pigs, over 100 chickens and 10 apiaries. Many residents find income in large-scale forestry, in nearby factories that were built in the vicinity of Liberec / Reichenberg, others are employed in nearby towns and villages as roofers, bricklayers and carpenters. The difficulties may also be due to the fact that the standard of living has fallen over the past decade. The last statistics of the craft trades in 1903 show 119 agricultural and 63 craft businesses. There are 2 timber dealers, 4 colonial dealers, and 2 newspaper dealers. In addition, 3 bakers, 2 butchers, 4 shoemakers, 1 tailor, 2 blacksmiths, 6 lumberjacks and 1 watchmaker take care of the needs of the residents. There are also 7 inns. 3 oil painters live from artistic activity. Before that, the village was busy manufacturing wooden goods (carts, sledges, rakes, etc.) ". A Traveling book of a craftsman - a young Coppersmith - from 1829 ^[4] shows that many sons of the village had to emigrate before that.

From 1920 the Czech name of the village was changed to Údol Svatého Kryštofa . In 1930 there were 844 people in the community, 96% of whom were Germans. As a result of the Munich Agreement Christofsgrund was added to the German Reich in 1938 and belonged to the Liberec District until 1945. In 1939 750 people lived in the village. After the end of the war, the Germans were .^[5] Until 1960 Údol Svatého Kryštofa belonged to the Okres Liberec-okolí. In 1960 the municipality was named Kryštofovo Údolí and came to Okres Liberec at the beginning of 1961. From 1980 to 1990 Kryštofovo Údolí was incorporated into Chrastava. Today the municipality offers visitors a rich tourist offer.

Sights[]

• Kryštofovo Údolí astronomical clock, a modern astronomical clock in a former electrical substation, is in the village.
• ^[6] Wooden church St. Christophorus with bell tower, timbered building with slate cladding, built 1683-1684
• Statue of St. John of Nepomuk on the church bridge
• ^[7] Nativity scene museum in the old school, today the U Kryštofa inn '; the oldest exhibit in the Tyrolean cribs dates from 1846
• "Spieluhr/Glockenspiel" built between 2006 and 2008 in the former transformer tower
• Chapel of St. Christopher from 1763 with a portrait of the painter Josef von Führich, on the saddle between Malý Vápenný ( Little Kalkberg ) and Lom ( Scheuflerkoppe ).
• Chapel of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary
• ^[8] Railway viaducts and tunnels near Novina, built 1898–1900
• Numerous half-timbered and half-timbered houses clad with slate

Villages[]

• Kryštofovo Údolí

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Kryštofovo Údolí at Wikimedia Commons

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