Zprávy památkové péče 2017, 77(5):515-528

Linearity and continuity. The Frýdlant area as an example of industrial landscape research

Petr Freiwillig

NPÚ, ÚOP v Liberci

The study deals with the phenomenon of the linear industrial landscape that formed on the borders of Bohemia, Germany and Poland, in the Frýdlant extension. Although this area, after the de-industrialization of the last twenty years, has been an agricultural landscape of pastures, fields and forests, it has a rich industrial and proto-industrial past preserved in fragments, sections, and even subtle remnants. The structure of the landscape is predetermined not only by the morphology of the terrain and hydrographic conditions, but also by medieval and modern settlements and demographic conditions. From this point of view, the area studied is a predominantly linear industrial landscape with components of a textile industry landscape, but also of mining and processing of mineral resources. The Frýdlant area is now a peripheral location of the Czech Republic, affected in the 20th century by an entire chain of phenomena which caused long-term stagnation or depression of the area. In the Early Modern Age, however, this was one of the most populous estates in Bohemia, thus creating appropriate demographic conditions for proto-industrialization.
The dominating settlement structures is from the middle ages are the linear villages which create several kilometers of continuous bands of settlement along the watercourses. The most significant of these is the Smědá River into which most of the area drains into. The river is characterized by a considerable drop: over 46 km the flow drops an extreme 756 m, then 218 m in the urbanized area. In the upper flow in particular, it has excellent conditions for hydro-energetic power. The Smědá, diagonally intersecting the territory from the southeast to the northwest, forms a basic landscape-forming axis linking settlements, production, and infrastructure. Linearity is the basic form of topographic location of production activity in the monitored area. The course of the water flows was the determining factor, but new industrial buildings with purely steam engine operation were built in the stream river valleys, since the railroad ran through here, facilitating the delivery of coal and raw materials. It is therefore an open chain, determined by the geomorphology of the territory: water flow → settlement → route → water-powered plant → factory → settlement → railroad → factory.
Of particular importance for the development of both guild and non-guild rural textile production was the establishment of contacts with Upper German merchant houses. It was through them that the Frýdlant area was ranked among typical proto-industrialization areas. This system also benefited the local aristocracy, since all craft production was subjected to a feudal monopoly. The numerous weavers in the countryside were the vast majority, and their number, unlike the stagnant guilds in the cities, increased dynamically. Another trend was the increase in the number of orders per single wearer. Cloth production was heavily concentrated in villages in the Oleška valley, creating a single settlement strip with Markocice (Markersdorf) and Bogatynia (Reichenau), today in Polish territory, formerly Germany. This densely populated valley seemed to be a reservoir of cheap labor for the neighboring villages in the Czech territory and gave them a competitive advantage against guild-based production. The villages, where the majority of the inhabitants found their livelihoods in proto-industrial domestic production, did not visibly differ from other settlements - except perhaps in their usually larger populations. The change was brought about by the advent of factory production which created industrial villages.
In these villages, often in the center, one or two or even more factories would grow from the existing buildings, usually quite disproportionate in size. The production building next to the church became the new dominant landmark. It even surpassed it, which can be seen as a symbol of modernization of the 19th century. However, this was not just the production area itself. At a later stage, this was accompanied by factory colonies and staff houses, or a significant expansion of residential developments. Qualitatively different housing in villas in close proximity to their factories was brought about by the owners of the factories. This all changed the image of these villages in a fundamental way and created somewhat bizarre scraps of industrial, folk, and villa historical architecture which was typical for the entire North Bohemian region. The influence of proto-industrial and industrial production was reflected in the territorial development of such villages, characterized by an abrupt growth of residential development in contrast with purely agricultural villages. The textile industry thus became a starter and the driver of the region's industrialization. The article draws attention to the need to notice manufacturing structures across the country and presents the possible outcomes of such an approach.

Keywords: proto-industrialization, Frýdlant Region, industrial landscape, textile production, industrial heritage

Published: December 1, 2017  Show citation