Kraslice

General view of the town

Town parts and villages of Černá, Čirá, Hraničná, Kámen, Kostelní, Krásná, Liboc, Mlýnská, Počátky, Sklená, Sněžná, Tisová, Valtéřov and Zelená Hora are administrative parts of Kraslice.

The roots of the name derive from the medieval German "Graz", meaning pine forest. Many variants were used throughout the town's history, the first was Greslas and the last was Graslitz. The Czech name is a transliteration of the last used German name.

Kraslice is situated about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Karlovy Vary on the border with Germany, adjacent to the German town of Klingenthal. It is located the Svatava River in the western part of the Ore Mountains. The highest point is the mountain Počátecký vrch, at 819 metres (2,687 ft) above sea level.

Kraslice lies in an area known for swarm type seismic activity. The last strong earthquake swarm was in 1986.[2]

The area was settled by German monks from Waldsassen Abbey in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the mid-13th century, a guard castle was built here and settlements were established around it. The first written mention of Kraslice is from 1272, when King Ottokar II of Bohemia donated it to Jindřich the Elder of Plavno. During the rule of the lords of Plavno in the 14th century, tin, lead and silver mining has developed in the area, and Kraslice became a prosperous settlement. In 1370, it was promoted by Charles IV to a royal town.[3]

At the beginning of the 15th century, Kraslice became the seat of the robber knights, and in 1412 the town was looted by the army, which aimed to rid the region of robbers. The town did not recover until 1527, when it was acquired by Jeroným Schlick and made it a free mining town. Ore mining in the vicinity of Kraslice has been declining since the 17th century. From 1666 to 1848, the town was owned by the Nostic family. Mining was replaced by folk crafts, the textile industry, and the manufacture of musical instruments and toys. In 1886, the railway was built.[3]

From 1938 to 1945 it was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. In 1944 a women's subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was established here. The German-speaking population was expelled in 1945 and the town was resettled with Czechs.[3]

Kraslice is known for the AMATI company, a manufacturer of musical instruments. The tradition of this manufacture dates back to 1631.[3][5]

The town lies on railway line from Sokolov to Klingenthal. Passenger services are provided by the railway company of GW Train Regio.

• Julius Meinl I (1824–1914), Austrian businessman, founder of Julius Meinl AG
• Rudolf Dellinger (1857–1910), German Bohemian composer
• Roland Bauer (1928–2017), German politician
• Petr Drozda (born 1952), wrestler and stuntman
• Eliška Staňková (born 1984), discus thrower
• Kateřina Zohnová (born 1984), basketball player
• Michael Krmenčík (born 1993), footballer

Kraslice is twinned with:[6]

• Klingenthal, Germany

Wikisource has several original texts related to: Kraslice

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kraslice.

• Official website