by
Robert J. Paulson

Althütten

CHRONICLE OF ALTHÜTTEN (according to the Heimatbuch of Hostau) The village of Althütten is located on the upper Radbusa river at an altitude of 530 meters and at the foot of the Eisenberg [Iron Mountain]. It is six kilometers from Muttersdorf and 2.5 kilometers from the Bavarian border. Althütten owes its beginnings to the oldest glassworks in the northern Bohemian Forest [Böhmerwald]. Althütten must have already established before 1579. A purchase contract from Kaiser Rudolf and the works-master in Schwanenbrückl, Paul Schürer, indicates the old cottage was already there prior to that. At that time the 789-meter high Eisenberg was already well-known and reached from Johanneshütte to Schwarzach. The dams creating the two ponds [fed from the mountain] are still preserved and maintained today. A roadway led over one of them which marked the boundary between the Choden districts of Pfraumberg and Taus. According to a strong tradition and remaining traces, the glassworks was located behind the mill. In 1728 there were only two houses and 12 inhabitants of Althütten. By 1784 there were 11 houses, in 1832 there were already 34 houses with 278 inhabitants. In 1910 Althütten had 39 houses and 360 inhabitants and in the year 1921 there were 49 houses and 390 inhabitants. In 1945 the population stood at 500 and Althütten was the largest village belonging to the Hostau court district. Althütten belonged to the parish of Muttersdorf which was 6 1/2 kilmeters away and separated from Althütten by a mountain ridge. The parish church in Waier, only 1.5 kilometersì away was preferred for regular services but it was not until 1923 that the pastor, Johann Jiran, succeeded in making Waier the parish for Althütten. The post office was in Bischofteinitz after 1851, in 1902 it became Hostau and in 1938, Muttersdorf. It was only after the "Anschluss" that nearby Waier became the Post Office and had a telephone connection. The majority of the residents of Althütten owned smaller farms and were also busy as masons, carpenters and unskilled workers. There was also a rare trade practiced there which was known as "Mühlenbauerberuf" [Mill-farmer-profession]. The mill-farmers of Althütten worked all along the Radbusa, from Friedrichshof to Bischofteinitz. The volunteer firemen in Althütten were a busy group. They were founded in 1900. Josef Helger served as their captain until 1918. The Musikverein [Music Society] was led by the brothers Josef and Baptist Spörl (Stoangirglan) and was then taken over and expanded by director Johann Spörl. In addition there was a young adults' brass ensemble established in under the direction of the musician, Ludwig Korber, in 1936. A local chapter of the Böhmerwaldbundes [Bohemian Forest League] was founded in 1905 with 28 members whose main interest was agriculture. Although the population of Althütten was larger than that of Schwanenbrückl, it was attached to the community of Schwanenbrückl. The mayor [Burgermeister] of the community in various years was from Althütten but during the last years before the expulsion the Burgermeister's offices were in Schwanenbrückl. Althütten also had a certified midwife who was Mrs. Anna Schmid from Waier. In 1924 a three-room public school was built in Althütten. The principal teacher [Overlehrer] was then Heinrich Cenefels. The assistant [Lehrer] was Franz Baar. Later teachers in Althütten were Josef Wild and Frau Anna Wierer. Althütten lost 22 men during World War I and 40 men during World War II.