Hanušovice

Villages of Hynčice nad Moravou, Potůčník, Vysoké Žibřidovice and Žleb are administrative parts of Hanušovice.

Hanušovice is situated at a confluence of rivers Morava and Branná. The town is in narrow valley surrounded by hills of Hanušovická vrchovina (Hanušovice Highlands).

Hanušovice is the seat of Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority.

The town's name is of German descent and consists of two parts. "Hanns Dorf" is equivalent to "John's village". Czech name is an approximate loan translation of the German original, using older Czech variation of the "John" name ("Hanuš") and the patronymic suffix "–ovice".

In 1325, the town was owned by the Kolštejn noble family. Most of Hanušovice was destroyed in the Hussite wars and the Czech-Hungary Wars of the 15th century. The town was repopulated by new settlers afterward. The settlers also established the village of Holba (a contraction of the German word halbseit ("half side"), as the village was on the left side of the road). Later, Hanušovice and Holba were united.

In the 19th century, many factories were opened, but only breweries remain.

Before the World War II, Hanušovice had 3,351 citizens; 556 were Czech, and the rest were German. During the World War II, the Gross Rosen concentration camp was located nearby, and Polish Jewish women had to work in factories. The English prisoners of war also worked there. After the war, the whole German population was expelled.

The unemployment rate was 5.4% in January 2020.[2]

The town is known for a brewery named Holba. Its production is about 200,000 hectoliters each year.[3] Factory producing ball bearings is situated in south outskirt of the town.

Small amphiboliteand gneiss quarry is located near a confluence of Morava River and Krupá Creek.

Other job opportunities are in a retail, forestry and bio agriculture.

A railway junction is not as important as used to be. A passenger transport has been cancelled on a railway to East Bohemia; the track is sporadically used for transporting cargo. A connection to Staré Město is unprofitable and survives with subsidy of Olomouc Region administration. Railway connection from Šumperk through Hanušovice to Jeseník keeps its importance.

Hanušovice is originally German town. Families of Czech officials and state railways employees immigrated during the interwar era because Germans were considered to be too disloyal to work in such strategic sectors such as government administration and logistics.

The whole German population was expelled in 1946. Abandoned houses were settled by Czechs from other parts of Czech lands, Slovaks, Czech minorities from the Soviet Union, especially from Volhynia and Roma, mostly from Slovakia.

The Slovak minority was fully assimilated during that time. Nowadays, Hanušovice is a Czech town with a small Roma community and some migrant workers from Ukraine.

The town hosts a popular beer festival every year. The festival known as "Hanušovické pivní slavnosti" is organized by the Holba Brewery and is situated in the brewery's areal. Two stages are presented; The first one is used for a performance of popular music while the second is for performances by brass bands. Special kinds of beers are prepared.

• Baroque St. Nicholas Church
• John of Nepomuk statue

• Arnold Walter (1902–1973), Canadian musicologist and composer

Hanušovice is twinned with:[4]

• Nitrianske Pravno, Slovakia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hanušovice.

• Official website