8 – Kvilda
The history of Kvilda in the era of the Golden Trail
The royal grounds around Kvilda were given to Ondřej, king John the Blind’s deputy on the royal castle in Písek, in the first third of the 14th century. After Ondřej’s death, his sons Tomáš and Jan were, in a document dated May 23, 1345, granted ownership of “the forest, which is called Gevilde, and which lies behind Reychensteyn”, with all its waters, artificial lakes, meadows and pastures, as well as the rights to use the metal mines (gold, silver, and others). Soon after the establishment of the Kašperské Hory branch of the Golden Trail, the farm Philde was founded on an uninhabited plain around today’s Kvilda. The founding of the village of Kvilda most likely dates back to the 15th or 16th century, this is supported by the local findings of ceramics.
On both shores of the Hamry and Kvilda streams, which flow into Warm Vltava, there are visible remains of the area’s gold mining past, in the form of piles of gangue.
The first settlement was more of a customs station, as the high altitude did not allow for agricultural activity. The village together with its surroundings belonged to the estate owned by the House of Malovec. In 1593 it was referred to as “the Bohemian village in the woods” where travelling tradesmen could find two inns to refresh themselves in.
With the end of the Golden Trail, Kvilda’s inhabitants lost their main source of income. A post-Thirty Years War tax document from 1654 still names keeping of livestock and trading on the Golden Trail as the people’s main source of income.
The royal grounds around Kvilda were given to Ondřej, king John the Blind’s deputy on the royal castle in Písek, in the first third of the 14th century. After Ondřej’s death, his sons Tomáš and Jan were, in a document dated May 23, 1345, granted ownership of “the forest, which is called Gevilde, and which lies behind Reychensteyn”, with all its waters, artificial lakes, meadows and pastures, as well as the rights to use the metal mines (gold, silver, and others). Soon after the establishment of the Kašperské Hory branch of the Golden Trail, the farm Philde was founded on an uninhabited plain around today’s Kvilda. The founding of the village of Kvilda most likely dates back to the 15th or 16th century, this is supported by the local findings of ceramics.
On both shores of the Hamry and Kvilda streams, which flow into Warm Vltava, there are visible remains of the area’s gold mining past, in the form of piles of gangue.
The first settlement was more of a customs station, as the high altitude did not allow for agricultural activity. The village together with its surroundings belonged to the estate owned by the House of Malovec. In 1593 it was referred to as “the Bohemian village in the woods” where travelling tradesmen could find two inns to refresh themselves in.
With the end of the Golden Trail, Kvilda’s inhabitants lost their main source of income. A post-Thirty Years War tax document from 1654 still names keeping of livestock and trading on the Golden Trail as the people’s main source of income.
The Golden Trail leaves Kvilda and continues towards Bučina
Area, nature, personalities, events
The current relief of Šumava was influenced by the constant alternation between glacial and interglacial periods in the Pleistocene. Erosion by wind, water and glacier created many diverse landscapes.
Rivers created deep mountain valleys in the elevates massifs. During glacial periods, these valleys accumulated a lot of snow, which created cirque glaciers and ice shoves. Glacier erosion led to the creation of morphological depressions – cirques, which are today filled with water. These glacier lakes on the Bohemian side of Šumava include the lakes Černé, Čertovo, Laka, Prášilské and Plešné. On the German side it’s the following lakes: Roklanské, Velké and Malé Javorské.
After the end of the Golden Trail and the Golden Road
In the 18th century, the Golden Trail no longer served as a source of income and people had to find other ways of making a living – forestry, smuggling, in recent times even smuggling people across borders, today tourism.
First glassworks like Filipova Huť or Tobiášova Huť began to appear in the second half of the 18th century. Since 1788, there was a renowned reverse glass painting workshop founded by Johann Kaspar Hilgart and his nephews.
Since 1878 there was also a renowned sawmill for resonance wood. There were four hammer mills and other wood-processing facilities.
In 1910 there were 122 houses with 1146 German inhabitants, the school opened in 1768. In 1936 a Czech one-class school was also founded.
The village was known for having a majority of German social democrats. Even in the unruly days of May 1938, a social democratic mayor was elected here. But not even they escaped the post-war displacement. In 1946, 180 people from Kvilda made out the last wave of deportations.
The current relief of Šumava was influenced by the constant alternation between glacial and interglacial periods in the Pleistocene. Erosion by wind, water and glacier created many diverse landscapes.
Rivers created deep mountain valleys in the elevates massifs. During glacial periods, these valleys accumulated a lot of snow, which created cirque glaciers and ice shoves. Glacier erosion led to the creation of morphological depressions – cirques, which are today filled with water. These glacier lakes on the Bohemian side of Šumava include the lakes Černé, Čertovo, Laka, Prášilské and Plešné. On the German side it’s the following lakes: Roklanské, Velké and Malé Javorské.
After the end of the Golden Trail and the Golden Road
In the 18th century, the Golden Trail no longer served as a source of income and people had to find other ways of making a living – forestry, smuggling, in recent times even smuggling people across borders, today tourism.
First glassworks like Filipova Huť or Tobiášova Huť began to appear in the second half of the 18th century. Since 1788, there was a renowned reverse glass painting workshop founded by Johann Kaspar Hilgart and his nephews.
Since 1878 there was also a renowned sawmill for resonance wood. There were four hammer mills and other wood-processing facilities.
In 1910 there were 122 houses with 1146 German inhabitants, the school opened in 1768. In 1936 a Czech one-class school was also founded.
The village was known for having a majority of German social democrats. Even in the unruly days of May 1938, a social democratic mayor was elected here. But not even they escaped the post-war displacement. In 1946, 180 people from Kvilda made out the last wave of deportations.