Osečná

Osečná
Oschitz
Town
Town square with Marian column and St Vitus church
Flag
Coat of arms
Country Bohemia
State Czech Republic
Region Liberec
District Liberec
Commune Liberec
Municipality Český Dub
River Ploučnice
Elevation 374 m (1,227 ft)
Coordinates 50°41′N 14°55′E / 50.683°N 14.917°ECoordinates: 50°41′N 14°55′E / 50.683°N 14.917°E
Area 28.06 km2 (10.83 sq mi)
Population 1,075
Density 38 / km2 (98 / sq mi)
First mentioned 1352
Mayor Jiří Hauzer
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 463 52
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Osečná
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.osecna.info

Osečná (Czech pronunciation: [ˈosɛtʃnaː]; German: Oschitz)is a town in the Liberec District of the Liberec Region in the Czech Republic. Osečná lies on the Ploučnice River, which springs here. The river is 106 km long and flows into the Elbe in Děčín. It has 1075 inhabitants. It lies 15 kilometres from Liberec, on the foot of Ještěd. In the town, there are located the primary school, kindergarten, post office, several shops, surgery and Lázně Kundratice, one of the oldest spas in Bohemia, which was founded in 1881. The moor is used here as a natural resource.

History

Osečná was evidently founded in the middle of 13th century, in the middle of the trade route which led form the town of Český Dub to the Děvín castle. The name of the town, maybe, came from the word “truncate”, what was the first, what people had to do before they can build – truncate the forest. The founders of Osečná were probably Vartenbergs. In 1234, Osečná became property of the king Ottokar II., when he died, his son Wenceslaus II. inherited his property. In 1306, Osečná is again the property of Vartenbergs.

In 1516, the Biebersteins bought Osečná and Děvín Castle. On April 8, 1563, Charles the Bieberstein laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new, stone church. Building took three years. In 1548, the chronicle city was developed. On the end of the 16th century, Charles the Bieberstein sold Osečná and the other villages to Jan Oprsstof. The year 1576 was very important, the emperor Rudolf II. elevated Osečná to the town and it got the law to use the urban character and the seal. The griffin with the golden crown and with the golden armour on the red background is on the Osečná’s urban character. On the bottom was a sign “Sigilium oppidi ossensis 1576“.

Osečná used to have the law brew the beer too and the law of executions, which existed to the year 1769. The executions were held on the hill, which was called “the Gallows hill.”Today, the monument of Friedrich Schiller is located here and the name is “Schiller’s height. Zikmund Smiřický, who bought Osečná in 1591, donated the brewery to the town in 1598. So Osečná could brew its own beer.

In 1618, Albrecht Jan Smiřický protested against the emperor Ferdinand II., what had the negative results. After the Battle of White Mountain, Albrecht von Wallenstein, who kept the Duchy of Frýdlant, got their property. The inhabitants of Osečná had to accept Catholicism and they had to pay to a [parson]] from Český Dub too, but they refused it. In 1653, the people from Osečná announced the recatholisation, what means they accept Roman Catholic faith again.

In 1634, when Albrecht von Wallenstein was killed, his property got the emperor Ferdinand II., who donated it to General Jan Ludvík Hektor as a tribute for his war records. When he died, his property inherited his daughter Regina who be taken to the Wien’s Monastery of Saint Jacob in 1643 and when she became the mother Superior, she donated her manor to this monastery. So Osečná was for the next 130 years in the property of this monastery in Wien. On November 5, 1643, the Swedish army arrived to the Osečná and it destroyed a big part of the town. They destroyed the town hall, robed the church and ignited the brewery. It never been restored. A new town hall was opened in the middle of square in 1704.

Lot of fires suffered Osečná during its history. The largest fire broke in the town on June 11, 1825 when almost the entire city burnt. 25 houses, town hall and the tower of church succumbed to the fire, and all of five bells in the tower melt down. Nowadays, two bells are located here. A big interest is associated with this fire: if the town couldn’t burn down then, it could be larger than Liberec.

On August 6, 1838, a Duke from Sychrov Kamil Rohan bought Manor of Český Dub. In 1870, he let to install a family blazon above the entrance gate into the church which is still here, on the same place. On this blazon is written one of the main mottos of the Rohans: „Potius mori quam foedar”, what means: “Is better to die than to betray”.

On October 10, 2006, the town status was returned to Osečná.

A lookout is building in Osečná nowadays. It’ll be 25 metres high and it’ll stand on Jiránek’s hill upon the Jeníškovský pond, where the Ploučnice River springs.

Places of interest

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Osečná.