STYLE
Nobility and industry in Silesia
The beginning of coal mining on the Moravian-Silesian border in the Ostrava and Karviná regions
dates back to the second half of the 18th century. After the Napoleonic Wars, the region started to
change into one of great industrial centres of Europe. Mining “black gold” went hand in hand with
iron production and chemical industry. The importance of the Ostrava-Karviná coal mining district
was highlighted by its location on the borders of Czech lands, Hungary, Galicia, and Prussia. It made
the transportation of goods and the migration of workers easy, therefore the region offered many
attractive opportunities.
The nobility played an important role, mainly during
the first phase of industrialisation. Only noble
families had the necessary means and contacts. The
first major investors included members of the ruling
Habsburg family. Archduke Rudolf Johann, the
archbishop of Olomouc, recognized the importance
of the Ostrava region, and decided to concentrate
the ironworks close to the coal mines. In 1828, he
founded the ironworks in Vítkovice. The Habsburgs
of Těšín were also active. Archduke Friedrich turned
the Duchy of Těšín into a prosperous industrial
dominion during the last third of the 19th century.
The holder of four honorary university degrees in
economics, he was the first businessman in the coal
district to adopt the eight-hour working day in his
mines. His factory in Ustron, Poland became the first
European producer of steam-powered ploughs.
The local lower nobility, like the Larisch-Mönich
family, soon started to profit from the industrial
boom, as well. Descendants of the Larysches of Lhota
and Karviná were involved in many fields of business,
from coal mining to sugar mills. In 1945, the family
owned six black-coal mines, a coking plant, three
chateaus and a spa in Karviná region.
also took part in the industrialization. Prince Karel
owned factories which produced linen, tobacco
and ammunition in Chuchelná. After the Great War,
his business started to decline; Chuchelná became
part of Czechoslovakia, and exporting to Germany
became complicated due to taxes and customs fees.
The transformation of the Region of Ostrava into
the industrial centre of European importance was
supported by “traditional” noble dynasties as well as
by many families who gained their noble titles thanks
to their business achievements. The Rothschilds
ranked among the most progressive representatives
of the so-called entrepreneurial aristocracy. Salomon
Mayer Rothschild, who became a baron in 1822,
bought the ironworks in Vítkovice from Archduke
Rudolf Johann in 1835. Among the business
partners of the Rothschilds were the Gutmanns,
an ennobled family from Lipník nad Bečvou. The
growing importance of the family was proved when
the daughter of Wilhelm Gutmann Elsa married
Prince Franz I of Lichtenstein in 1929.
The era of noble businessmen ended – in and out
the region of Ostrava – with the onset of World War
II and mainly by the events of 1948.
Text:
Ondřej Kolář,
Slezské zemské muzeum,
Opava
Foto:
archiv
Slezského zemského muzea
The Lichnovský family of Voštice, who owned vast
land on both sides of the Austrian-Prussian border,
Interiér tabákové továrny Lichnovských v Chuchelné
Továrna v Chuchelné
POSITIV ǀ 3/2018 61