Staré Hamry () is a municipality and village in the

Frýdek-Místek District Frýdek-Místek District () is a district in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Frýdek-Místek. Administrative division Frýdek-Místek District is divided into four administrative districts of munici ...

in the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region () is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region (). The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 500 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name Staré Hamry literally means "old

hammer mill A hammer mill, hammer forge or hammer works was a workshop in the pre-industrial era that was typically used to manufacture semi-finished, wrought iron products or, sometimes, finished agricultural or mining tools, or military weapons. The featur ...

s" and refers to the hammer mills that were here in the 17th century. The settlement was initially called only ''Hamry''; the attribute ''Staré'' was added later after hammer mills in Baška ("new hammer mills") were founded.

Geography

Staré Hamry is located about south of

Frýdek-Místek Frýdek-Místek (, ; ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 54,000 inhabitants. The historic centres of both Frýdek and Místek are well preserved and are protected as two Cultural monument (Czech Republic) ...

and south of

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

. It lies in the

Moravian-Silesian Beskids The Moravian-Silesian Beskids (Czech: , ) is a mountain range in the Czech Republic with a small part reaching to Slovakia. It lies on the historical division between Moravia and Silesia, hence the name. It is part of the Western Beskids within ...

mountain range. The highest point is the Smrk mountain at above sea level, located on the northern municipal border. Most of the municipality is forested. The municipality is situated around the Šance Reservoir, which lies on the Ostravice River.

History

Staré Hamry was founded between 1636 and 1639, which is the period from which its first land book came. Politically, it was a part of the Friedek

state country State country (; ; ) was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. These estates were exempt from feudal tenure by privilege of the Bohemian ...

, which was a part of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

. The first hammer mill was built in 1638 and disappeared at the end of the 17th century. The greatest development of the municipality was at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when it became a recreation area. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it became a part of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. In March 1939, it became a part of

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was restored to Czechoslovakia. Initially, the village was located only on the right bank of the Ostravice, which formed the border between

Czech Silesia Czech Silesia (; ) is the part of the historical region of Silesia now in the Czech Republic. While it currently has no formal boundaries, in a narrow geographic sense, it encompasses most or all of the territory of the Czech Republic within the ...

and

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

. In 1951, the northern part of the municipality was split from Staré Hamry and joined with Ostravice; whereas the southern part of Ostravice was split from it and joined with Staré Hamry. Both municipalities now lie on both banks of the Ostravice. In 1969, the Šance Reservoir was built.

Demographics

Transport

The I/56 from Ostrava to Bílá passes through the municipality.

Sights

The main landmark of the village is the Church of Saint Henry, built in 1863–1865. A monument on the outside of the cemetery wall from 1933 commemorates the social poem ''Maryčka Magdónova'' by

Petr Bezruč Petr Bezruč () was the pseudonym of Vladimír Vašek (; 15 September 1867 – 17 February 1958), a Czech poet and short story writer who was associated with the region of Austrian Silesia. His most notable work is ''Silesian Songs,'' a co ...

. In the hamlet of Gruň is the wooden Church of the Virgin Mary, which was built in 1887–1890.

Etymology

Geography

History

Demographics

Transport

Sights

Notable people

References

External links