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