Krnov

=__//**KRNOV**//__=

An industrial center, it manufactures textiles (especially woolens) and musical instruments (notably organs). It is a summer resort and a winter sport area. The city was founded in 1221 and served as the capital of an independent duchy from 1377 to 1523. Krnov has an 18th century castle and several churches and abbeys. According to the Austrian census of 1910, the town had 16,681 inhabitants, 15,647 of whom had permanent residence there. The census had asked people for their native language; 15,390 (98.4%) were German-speaking and 247 (1.5%) were Czech-speaking. Jews were not allowed to declare Yiddish, thus most of them declared German as their native language. Most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 15,290 (91.7%), followed by Protestants with 885 (5.3%) and the Jews with 459 (2.8%). The Krnov Synagogue is one of the few large synagogues to have survived the Nazi occupation of Europe.
 * Krnov** ( Czech pronunciation: [ˈkr̩nof] ; German: //Jägerndorf//) is an Upper Silesian city in the northeastern Czech Republic, in the Moravian-Silesian Region, the District of Bruntál, on the Opava River , near the Polish border.



__**Krnov - Town on the Junction**__
The town of Krnov is situated at the junction of rivers Opava and Opavice in the piedmont of Low Jeseník alongside the Czech-Polish border. Archaeological finds reveal that this place has been almost continuously settled since the Old Stone Age, approximately 30 000 years. As late as the 7th century the settlement was exclusively Slavic as it is also evidenced by written reports about the Moravian tribe of Holasics. Erratic blocks and other material brought to Krnov by the glacier are permanent reminders of the glacial epoch. From the post- glacial epoch there were found in Krnov a cave bear´s canine tooth, a fragment of mammoth´s molar and other finds. Life of Young Stone Age is documented by extensive finds in nearby Brumovice; fortified settlements on both Cvilín hills date back to the last period of Neolite. In the period of the culture of urn fields people there were three fortifications: on the front Cvilín hill, above Červený dvůr on the adjacent part of the Úvalno cadastre and on the rear hill. From here also come finds from the near surroundings, primarily iron pots and an iron axe from the 11 and 12th century. The date of origin of Krnov itself cannot be unquestionably determined. Its Czech name (in the form of Kyrnow) is documented in the first written form in 1240. The German name Jägerndorf (in the form of Jegerdorf) is first recorded in 1253. In medieval documents the place was also referred to by a Latin name Carnovia. Krnov originated at the crossroads of ancient merchant routes connecting Baltic Hanseatic towns with Italy. It first appears in historic documents from year 1240 in the Act of Czech King Václav I in which he donates to the Tišnov monastery a hide row village popularly called Kyrnow in the former Holasics region ("circulium quendam in districtu Holascencsi, Kyrnow vulgariter nuncupatum cum omnibus appendiciis suis, villis, agris, pratis, silvis, fluminibus") It soon receives municipal prerogatives. This happened before year 1269. It can be said that during the rule of Přemysl Otakar II Krnov had these prerogatives. Municipal privileges were confirmed by Queen Kunhuta in year 1279. The Krnov castle Cvilín built from stone in the 13th century became a princely residence of the Opava prince Mikuláš from the indirect Přemysl line when at his arrival in the Opava region he was received by independent administrative institutions - municipal court and Krnov municipal law, Moravian Margrave Jošt introduced municipal tablets and office of municipal governor. The Krnov region has become a significant territorial unit lying on the dividing line between Moravia and Silesia.

The Pilgrimage Church of the Elevation of the Holy Rood and Our Lady on Cvilín Hill was built from 1722 to 1728 near a place where an old wooden chapel used to stand. The tradition of pilgrimages to the Cvilín Hill has been more than 400 years old. Since the Middle Ages there has been a legend about the healing power of the picture of Our Lady that is placed behind the altar. Every year there are several pilgrimages. The most significant one is held every year in the middle of September and is called the Pilgrimage the Elevation of the Holy Rood and Our Lady. About 150 metres from the church there is an observation tower, which offers a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside, especially the highest peak of Moravia called, which is 1492 metres above sea level. Near the church there are two facilities providing boarding and accommodation: the newly reconstructed Hotel called Cvilín (about 150 m from the church) and a stylish pension called Šelenburk (about 400 m from the church), whose interior is decorated with many hunting trophies (antlers, a stuffed bear). The green footpath goes through the Cvilín Hill. It leads to the ruins of the Cvilín castle and also to the observatory tower of Hans Kudlich situated above the neighbouring municipality of Úvalno (about 5.5 km far from the Pilgrimage Church).
 * The Pilgrimage Church on the Cvilín Hill**

[|http://krnov.minorite.cz]

The oldest history of the church, substantiated in writing, dates back to the turn of the 13th and the 14th centuries, when it was taken over by the Teutonic Order. In 1779 the town was affected by fire that gutted the church as well. In the 1880s, the interior of the church was completely rebuilt. In the north part of the church, there are valuable renaissance tombstones dating from the 16th century. In the side chapel, there is a polychrome tombstone of the château doctor - Kryštof Bilický from Bilice. Next to the church, there are a Marian column with the statue of Virgin Mary Immaculate dating from the 18th century and an arcade wall, also called a Swedish wall, with stripping battlements from the period of 1523 – 1543.
 * St. Martin's Church**





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