Schönhengstgau
The Schönhengstgau ( Hřebečsko in Czech ) is a historical region in Bohemia and Moravia , which, however, did not form a single unit in terms of landscape or politics. Until the end of World War II, it was the largest German- speaking island in Czechoslovakia .
Geography and history
The Schönhengstgau is named after the elongated Schönhengster back (Hřebečovský hřbet) in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands . It stretched on both sides of the Bohemian-Moravian border; in the north it was separated from the predominantly German-speaking county of Glatz by a narrow strip populated by Czechs. The largest cities are Svitavy (German Zwittau ), Moravská Třebová (German Mährisch Trübau ) and Lanškroun (German Landskron ).
The region came to Germany in 1938 through the Munich Agreement as part of the Sudetenland . In 1945 and 1946 the German population was largely expelled.
A famous Schönhengstgauer is Oskar Schindler from Zwittau , who saved hundreds of Jews from certain death in the concentration camp. His life was thematized in the film Schindler's List .
coat of arms
There is no official coat of arms for the Schönhengstgau region. Around 1940, Adolf Jenisch designed a coat of arms that shows a growing black horse on the shield in silver above and a black wall with battlements below. This coat of arms adorned the "Schönhengster Heimatzeitung" early on and is perceived by most of the Schönhengster compatriots as the official coat of arms of the Schönhengstgau region. In many sources this coat of arms can be found with a different tinge (golden shield, with red wall and black horse). Presumably this later tinging is based on the coat of arms of Landskron (but this is currently not definitively proven).
Sponsored city
The sponsoring city for the Schönhengstgau region is Göppingen .
The home song of the Schönhengstgauer
(Beautiful stallion Gaulied)
A richly gifted land spreads between the March and the eagle
, which
banishes the wanderer who walks through it like a sweet magic.
A blessing rests in every valley, there is
peaceful green on mountains and meadows.
Greetings thousands of times,
sweet German Schönhengstgau!
Our lovely mother tongue,
our ancestors' honest manner,
are preserved under every roof
like a delicious good.
The people there proudly show off
manly courage and women's dignity
.
Remain adornment of the earth garden,
sweet German Schönhengstgau!
And the girls like the boys of
our future consolation and hoard,
should dig deep into the heart of
their fathers' password:
If happiness shines in a golden shimmer,
Coming days cloudy and gray
,
loyally connected, your forever, dear German beautiful stallion valley!
Text: Ottokar Kernstock , melody: Rudolf Kunerth
Web links
- The Schönhengstgau
- Bohemian-Moravian border area
- Moravian Trübau and Gewitsch region
- Schönhengstgau in GenWiki
- Comments on the historical development of the Schönhengstgau , article from 2006 on the Bruntál.net website (Czech)
- The expulsion of the Germans from Schönhengstgau , article from 2006 on the Bruntál.net website (Czech)