Javorník (Jeseník District)

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Javorník, Czech Republic

Region (kraj)	Olomouc (Olomoucký)
Population	2900 (2005)
Area	N/A
Coordinates	50°24′ N 17°1′ E
Elevation	N/A
Founded	14th century
Website	[1]

view on the castle

tenement houses

general view

church

castle

See other locations named Javorník.

Javorník or Javorník u Jeseniku or Javorník ve Slezsku (Jauernig in German) is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 2,900 inhabitants.

1 Early History
2 Golden Age
3 19th Century
4 Post-WWII Years
5 Famous personalities born or living in Javorník
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Early History

The city, which lies in the foothills of Rychlebské Hory (Reichensteiner Gebirges in German), was established under a medieval fortress, what would later become castle Johannesberg, at the beginning of the 14. century. It belonged to the Principality of Neisse Grottkau, which was under the rule of the prince-bishops of Breslau.

From 1428 until 1432, during the Hussite Wars, Javorník and its fort were under siege by the Hussites. They left the village and the fortress in ruins and it was not until early 16. century, when Prince-Bishop of Breslau Johannes V - Johannes Thurzó (1506-1520) - built, on the remains of the old stronghold of Jauernig, castle Johannesberg. During his reign Javorník gained importance as a mining settlement as several silver and iron ore mines were established in the area.In 1549 the village finally became a town and a first school was also established. Unfortunately, in 1576 the town’s growth was hampered as it was ravaged by a fire. The devastation was minor however, compare to the destruction Javorník experienced during the Thirty years war, especially then in 1646. The settlement was nearly completely destroyed and it was not until eight years later that Javorník became once again a prosperous town, now with a church, school, town hall and a brewery.

[edit] Golden Age

After the Prussian victory in the First Silesian War in 1742, Austria lost nearly all of its Silesian possessions. However, Javorník together with the so-called Bohemian Silesia remained under Hapsburg control. This was a prosperous period for the town. In 1748, Javorník became the seat of the Breslau diocese responsible for the administration of all its properties in the Freiwaldau region and since 1767 also the center of Habsburg government for the Principality of Neisse-Grottkau. At the same time, Philipp Gotthard, Graf von Schaffgotsch, the prince-bishop of Breslau moved his court on the Johannesberg castle and with him Javorník became also the cultural center of Upper Silesia. Among the most famous personalities living there was August Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, renowned Viennese composer and violinist. By 1804, Javorník had 419 homes and over 3100 citizens, more than any other urban area in the region.

[edit] 19th Century

Unfortunately, in 1825 once again a devastating fire ravaged the town, destroying 104 of its structures including the town hall, church and most of its industry. Although Javorník was rebuilt, it never regained the same importance in the region as it had during its golden age in the second half of the 18. century. Most of its textile, brewing and manufacturing industries never fully recovered and the city became once again dependent on forestry and mining, chiefly silver, arsenic and iron. In 1897, Javorník was linked with the rest of the Empire by a local railway, but even that did not revitalize the town’s industries or its overall growth. In 1880 Javorník had the population of 3362 citizens mostly of German speaking descent. This number continued to decline throughout the first quarter of the 20th century to about 3000 in 1930 and 2900 in 1941.

[edit] Post-WWII Years

After 1945, under the Beneš decrees most Sudeten Germans were forced to leave Czechoslovakia. Most citizens of Javorník were evicted from their homes and held at several interment camps in the Freiwaldau district. Many of them were also beaten and killed by numerous militias and paramilitary groups with strong ties to the Communist Party and the Red Army [2]. However, scores of families from Javorník were able to leave with the assistance of Adolf Cardinal Bertram and the Wittelsbachs; a noble German family that owned several properties in the area. They worked tirelessly to save many ethnic German families; helping them to flee Czechoslovakia to the British and US Zones in Germany and Austria. The majority of the German population was expelled from Javorník by 1947. Their property was given or sold to the Czech and Slovak citizens under the repopulation programs of the Czechoslovakian government.

[edit] Famous personalities born or living in Javorník

Adolf Cardinal Bertram (1859 - 1945)
Cardinal Melchior, Freiherr von Diepenbrock (1798 - 1853)
August Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739 - 1799)
Joseph, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
Friedrich Wilhelm Helle (1834 - 1901)
Bishop Joseph Christian, Prinz von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein (1740 - 1817)
Franz Wittelsbach, Prinz von Bayern (1919 - 1999)
Johann Nepomuk Rust (1775 - 1840)
Philipp Gotthard, Graf von Schaffgotsch (1716 - 1795)
Josef Christian, Freiherr von Zedlitz und Nimmersatt (1790 - 1862)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Pachl, Hans - Jauernig und das Jauerniger Ländchen. Ein Heimatbuch des ehemaligen Gerichtsbezirks Jauernig - 1983
Ludwig, Gernot und Kurt Wolf - Jauernig und das Jauerniger Ländchen. Das 2. Heimatbuch des ehemaligen Gerichtsbezirkes Jauernig - 1995