JABLONEC NAD NISOU & THE JIZERA MOUNTAINS WELCOME tO JABLONEC NAD NISOU The picturesque town of Jablonec nad Nisou is found in North Bohemia at an altitude of around 500 metres above sea level. The town lies amidst the greenery of the basin of the River Nisa and has a population of almost forty-five thousand. You won’t have any great problems finding your way around – the town centre consists of three squares one above the other. Visitors to the town come face-to-face with the delicate beauty of glass products and costume jewellery in the history and present of the place. Jablonec nad Nisou is home to a wealth of interesting places, prominent structures and attractive districts. The predominant architectural styles found in the town are neo- Renaissance, Art Nouveau and Functionalism. A reservoir was built at the beginning of the 20th century not far from the centre of the town. This is a unique technical monu- ment that together with the surrounding area is an attractive place for recreation. Jablonec nad Nisou is an enticing invitation to all those looking for a holiday full of variety and activity. A visit to the town will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of town life, such as sightseeing, culture and sport. You can then make for the easily-accessible coun- tryside of the Jizera Mountains. There is something here for all seasons; in summer you can enjoy hiking and cycling and in winter cross-country and downhill skiing. Or you might like to head for the resorts of Bedřichov, Severák, Špičák, Jizerka or Harrachov only a few kilometres along the road. You can even travel to Prague from here in around an hour. We hope that the time you spend here with us makes for a wonderful holiday. 1 2 1 > Dolní náměstí (Lower square) 3 4 2 > Town theatre (Městské divadlo) 3 > Swimming pool (Plavecký bazén) 4 > The small village of Jizerka and Bukovec hill DAtES IN HIStORY AND INtEREStING FACtS 1356 The first written document referring to Jablonec nad Nisou. 1469 Jablonec is set alight by wartime enemies of Jiří of Poděbrady. 1530s and 1540s – Appears in the Public records as abandoned. 1548 Glassworks are opened in Mšeno nad Nisou, marking the rebirth of Jablonec. The Jizera Mountains beco­ me one of the most significant glassmaking centres in the Kingdom of Bohemia during the 16th century. 1590 A bell for the wooden church in Jablonec is cast by Jakub of Mělník. You can see this, the oldest preserved monument of the town, in the local Museum of Glass and Costume Jewellery. 1643 Jablonec and its surrounding villages are set alight by the Swedes during the Thirty – Year War. 1687 The first thoughts arise of building a town here. Jablonec is first regarded as a place of potential signifi­ cance and a place suitable for trade in the land and duties register of the Malá Skála demesne. 1708 – 1710 The owners of the Malá Skála demesne, the Counts of Des Fours, make the first efforts to elevate Jablonec to a market town. 1737 The parish in Jablonec becomes independent. 1760 – 1761 The development of glass costume jewellery production in the Jizera Mountains. 1808 The village of Jablonec is elevated to market town status by Imperial decree, with the ceremonial announcement coming in 1809. A market is established on what is now Mírové náměstí (Peace Square). 1847 Work begins on the “Krkonoše Road” to link Liberec, Jablonec and Trutnov. For Jablonec this means the first quality link to the rest of the world. 1848 – 1850 Josef Pfeiffer is elected the first mayor of Jablonec. 1859 The first railway line (Pardubice – Liberec) crosses the historical Jablonec district at Rychnov. 1866 Jablonec is elevated to town status, an event accompanied by the construction of the second square in Jablonec – Nový trh (New Market), today’s Dolní náměstí (Lower Square). The construction of the first Jablonec town hall (now the town library) begins soon after on the northern side of the new square. 1868 Jablonec becomes the centre of a separate political district consisting of the judicial districts of Jablonec and Tanvald. 1870 The first Czech society, the “Česká beseda” society, is set up in the German – speaking Jablonec. 1880 A school of applied arts focusing on costume jewellery is founded for the needs of local industry. 1888 A new railway line from Liberec to Jablonec is completed in the valley of the River Nisa. 1894 The railway line from Liberec reaches Tanvald via Lučany and Smržovka, which finally provides fast train connections between the most important places in the Jablonec area. 1897 A hundred – year’s worth of water floods the Jizera Mountains, having a destructive impact on an over­ whelming part of the region. Protective dams are built on the upper courses of local rivers. 1900 The local electric railway is opened, with the gradient of the track between Rychnov and Janov nad Nisou something of a European rarity. 1902 Construction work is completed on the Old Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Holy Cross (kostel Povýšení sv. Kříže), the most valuable Art Nouveau monument in Jablonec and one of the most promi­ nent sacred Art Nouveau buildings in Europe. 1906 The town receives the privilege of a coat – of – arms and the suffix “nad Nisou” (on the River Nisa) to distinguish it from other towns in the country called “Jablonec”. 1 2 1 > Roman Catholic Church of the Holiest Heart of Jesus (kostel Nejsvětějšího srdce Ježíšova) 2 > New Jablonec town hall DAtES IN HIStORY AND INtEREStING FACtS 1912 The Austrian steamboat known as Gablonz (the German word for Jablonec) sets sail for India from Terst. 1930 – 1933 The architectural finishing touches are put to Jablonec town centre with the construction of two distinctive new buildings – the Catholic Church of the Holiest Heart of Jesus (kostel Nejsvětějšího srdce Ježíšova) on the newly – create Horní náměstí (Upper Square) and the New Town Hall. 1938 The historically German – speaking Jablonec becomes part of the German Reich as part of surrendering the Sudetenland to Germany after the Munich Agreement. The Jewish synagogue is set alight the very same year. 1942 – 1943 The foundation of a labour camp at the Fein Apparatenbau Carl Zeiss Jena (FAB) Company in Jab­ lonec nad Nisou – Rýnovice and an extension of the Gross Rosen concentration camp in Rychnov near Jablonec nad Nisou. 1945 – 1947 The nationalisation of major enterprises, the displacement of Germans and the Czech settlement of the area – a considerable number of local Germans were spared displacement thanks to their profi­ ciency in glassmaking (11.2 % of the population claimed German nationality in 1950). 1948 The creation of the Skleněná bižuterie, Preciosa and Kovová bižuterie national enterprises (companies that made glass and costume jewellery) and the establishment of Liaz and Autobrzdy (companies that focused on the motor industry). The Jablonec export houses become part of “Československá akciová společnost pro vývoz skla” (Czechoslovak Joint Stock Company for the Export of Glass) in Prague, later renamed Skloexport. 1949 The Jablonec area becomes part of the Liberec Region. 1952 An independent company for the export of so­called Jablonec goods known as Jablonex is created from the Jablonec branch of Skloexport. 1954 The Jablonec nad Nisou – Liberec tram line is put into operation. 1960 The Železný Brod area and parts of the Turnov area, the Liberec area, the Frýdlant area and the Vysoké area become part of the existing Jablonec district. Jablonecké Paseky, Vrkoslavice, Mšeno, Rýnovice a Lukášov become part of Jablonec. New buildings are construction for the costume jewellery industry and old buildings are modernised (Jablonex, Bižuterie, Museum of Glass and Costume Jewellery, Exhibi­ tion Grounds). 1965 The electric railway is closed. This first of many international costume jewellery fairs is held. 1967 The “Jizerská padesátka” (a fifty – kilometre cross – country skiing race in the Jizera Mountains) is staged for the first time and goes on to become quite famous indeed. The development of sport and physical education – the construction of an indoor athletics hall. 1970s A wave of tower­block construction that “buries” the village of Mšeno nad Nisou (which neighbours Jablonec) completely changes the picturesque Jablonec suburbs. 1980s The demolition of the old Hotel Merkur. 1982 Proseč nad Nisou and Kokonín become part of Jablonec nad Nisou. 1993 Jablonec nad Nisou becomes a minting town as local company Bižuterie wins the tender to mint all coins in the Czech Republic. 2002 The Municipal Authority in Jablonec nad Nisou becomes a local authority with broadened powers as part of reforms to public administration. 1 2 1 > Podhorská Street and Smetanova Street 2 > Embankment of the Jablonec dam WHAt YOU SHOULD SEE IN JABLONEC NAD NISOU… 1 > The Church of St. Anne (kostel svaté Anny) – The oldest church in Jablonec, this single­nave Baroque structre was built between 1685 and 1687 on the site of the wooden chapel that originally stood here. A cross of conciliation and a statue of the Virgin Mary are found in the southern part of the church. The building is now used for cultural purposes as an exhibition and concert hall. 2 > The former manse and statuary of the Getseman garden from 1829. 3 > The New Town Hall – A building erected in line with the plans of German architect from Liberec Karl Win­ ter in 1931 and 1932, now home to the municipal authority. Climb the town hall tower with a guide during the summer for a marvellous view of the town. 4 > The Museum of Glass and Costume Jewellery (Muzeum skla a bižuterie) – Houses the permanent exhibitions “The Charming World of Costume Jewellery” and “The Magic Garden – Seven Centuries of Bohemian Glass” in a historically valuable Art Nouveau building.