Chrastava

Chrastava (Czech pronunciation: [ˈxrastava]; German: Kratzau) is a town in northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic about 10 kilometre (6 mi) northwest of the regional capital Liberec. The town is situated on the Jeřice brook near to its confluence with the Lusatian Neisse (Czech: Lužická Nisa). Chrastava is surrounded by hills of the Ještěd Mountains and more distant Jizera Mountains. The town of Chrastava was first mentioned in 1351 as Craczauia. It was founded very probably in the end of 13th century on the site of an older village of the West Slavic Milceni tribe by German settlers, having been invited by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. They came mainly from the city Pirna in Saxony. Chrastava, then known mostly by the German name...