Frývaldov

Frývaldov lies on the Bělá among the mountains separating Moravia from Silesia. Founded under the bishops of Wrocław, it grew on a trade route and near deposits of iron ore. By 1326 thirteen hammer mills worked the local iron, and gold and silver were mined in the later fifteenth century.

The Fugger family bought the town in 1506 and renewed mining, but sold it back to the bishops in 1547 as the ore became exhausted or unprofitable. Linen weaving then became a principal source of income. War, witch trials and fire troubled the town in the seventeenth century. After the First Silesian War, Frývaldov remained Austrian while many of its Silesian markets passed to Prussia. In 1822 Vincenz Priessnitz founded his water-cure establishment in the nearby hills.