Jeseník

The first written mention of Jeseník is from 1267.[3] It was probably founded during the colonization of the territory by the Bishops of Wrocław, who acquired the area in 1199. It became a town between 1284 and 1295, thanks to the development caused by its strategic location on a trade route from Moravia to Silesia and on the confluence of two rivers, and thanks to the iron ore deposits in the surroundings. In 1284 at the latest, a castle had to stand here.[3]

In the 14th century Freiwaldau developed as a centre of iron one processing. The first mention of the iron ore processing is from 1326, when thirteen hammer mills were already operating here. However, mining ended already at the end of the 14th century. In the second half of the 15th century, gold and silver were mined here.[3]

From 1378 to 1463, the town was owned by the Mušín family. In the following decades it often changed owners. In 1506, the flourishing town was purchased by the Swabian Fugger dynasty who resumed mining activity. In the same year, the town obtained the Bergregal privileges. The iron ore deposits were soon exhausted or have become unprofitable, and the Fuggers sold the town back to the Wrocław bishops in 1547. The town developed crafts and gained many guild privileges at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Linen weaving became the most important source of income.[3]

Jeseník spa in the early 20th century

Jeseník was damaged several times during the Thirty Years' War. Between the years 1622 and 1684, the town was in the centre of the infamous Northern Moravia witch trials. A large fire severely damaged the town in 1696. Despite the difficulties, economic prosperity continued until 1742, when Jeseník became part of Austrian Silesia after the First Silesian War. Due to the loss of Silesian markets as the main customer of production, linen got into a crisis and the town lost its mining privileges.[3]

New economic development occurred in the 19th century, when industrialization began and new factories and enterprises were established. Significant and world-famous was the Regenhart u. Rayman textile factory, established in 1822. The opening of the railway in 1888 also helped the development of the town. In 1808, the Grabenberg hamlet (later known as Gräfenberg/Gräfenberk, today Lázně Jeseník) was founded, and the spa was established here in the 1820s. Gräfenberg was incorporated into the town in 1868.[3]

Jeseník remained with the Austrian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy until World War I and the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918. According to the Austrian administration census of 1910 the town had 6,859 inhabitants, with 6,588 (99.5%) were speaking German, 16 Czech and 13 Polish. Jews were not allowed to declare Yiddish, most of them thus declared German. Most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 6,552 (95.5%), followed by Protestants with 208 (3%) and the Jews with 83 (1.2%).[6]

In 1938, Jeseník was ceded to Nazi Germany as a result of the Munich Agreement. It was administered as a part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. During World War II, the German occupiers operated several forced labour subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in the town.[7] The town was restored to Czechoslovakia after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II in 1945. The German population was expelled according to the Potsdam Agreement and Beneš Decrees in 1945.

In 1950, Bukovice and Dětřichov were joined to Jeseník. In 1997, Jeseník was damaged by the Central European flood.[3]