Our German Bohemian Legacy
by
Robert J. Paulson
GBHS Founder
Neuhäusl
In an accord from 1694, the forest in the Reichenthal around Tachau was granted to a local Meierhof. During the border redistricting of 1699, the 18 year old Paul Waygart of Hesselsdorf near Rainstein where the Samsterloh, the Rainung merge with the Wenzel Janka near Petlarn. He was the son of a Wenzel Weigert, who owned an estate in Hesseldorf, and maintained the noble forest tract nearby and acted as a border guard/gamekeeper. Between 1699 and 1705, he began constructing a “Schützenhaus” on the border of the forest. The obituaries of St. Katherina listed, “On the 7th of April, Wenzel Waigl a nobleman of Neuen Häuseln, was committed to the Earth at the age of 50.” In 1713 there was a catastrophe, “These ten houses, and their occupants, were demolished and burned.” On January 12, 1711, new houses were built to accommodate wealthy occupants. Every settler was granted six small fields and a piece of forest. Three had their houses built by the local leadership for about 50 Gulden, and two built their own houses and paid 5 Gulden for the land. Four chose not to clear or build upon the land. From 1768 the neighboring houses were incorporated into the village, and a main street was constructed. At the end of 1769, eight citizens of the village Trutz were resettled in Neuhäusl. In 1788, there were 28 houses standing, and in 1805, the village reached its highest house count at 38. In 1871, two accompanying Hesselsdorfer houses were removed to Neuhäusel. By 1939, there were 423 German settlers in Neuhäusel, amongst the 660 in the Reichenthal.
Since 1921, the village has been a deputy of the forest district head. Before that, the villagers were concerned with agriculture and the village was a stopover on the way through the forest. The last forest managers were Franz Nestler, Franz Pesnet, Julius Minatti, Franz Neuöll, Johann Meyer and Eduard Poschwitz. In 1930, the village purchased and built houses for the three lumberjack families.
On September 14 1786, Neuhäusel became the seat of a parish, which included Roßhaupt, Ströbl and Reichenthal. The first order of business was to build a stone chapel. With directives, on May 17 1854, the local church was elevated to the parish church. In 1913, Roßhaupt and Ströbl were removed from the parish. In 1791, the foundation of the church was laid. After 43 years of construction, the church was finally finished n 10.30.1836. The first priest was Johann Josef Heinl, in its last years the village was administered through Roßhaupt.
As a smaller village, Neuhäusl received a smaller school. This smaller school was in place from 1.3.1787 under the direction of Kasper Volt until it was torn down and rebuilt larger in 1883. In 1887, it was expanded to a two room school house and received Johann Dorschner , Gregor Löw, Adreas Maier and Josef Stich as administrators. In 1941, the school building was again razed and the children were transported to the Reichenthal school.
The ground on which the economic sector in Neuhäusl was built was mostly leased until 1921. Through the purchase of the previously leased Roßhaupter Farms granted more population to the village. These rented rooms in either the gamekeeper’s lodge or the local inn. With 1.5 Hectares, this Gathaus was the largest building in Neuhäusl, while the Gasthaus Nr. 13 was the largest in the Reichenthal at 3.5 Hectares. There were more Gasthauses Nr. 5 “to the west” and since 1932 Nr. 78. Since 1899, farmers and creameries grew, and in 1874 Martin Fröhlich and his son Anton expanded their store. Anton expanded the store again to a second location in 1923. The lumber industry also provided steady employment and income for the village.
Reichenthal
This boarder village sprang up around a glassworkers. It came after a 1699 grant of forestland by the Graf Kolowrat, which in 1716 allowed the village to flourish. On 3.29.1717, miller Adam Säckl had a son named Paul, and named the Place of Birth as “Newe Glaßhütte”. The name “Newe Glaßhütte” also appeared in 1732 as a description of the Reichenthal. In 1722, two houses in the village were designated as the glassworks and the Mill for upper Reichenthal. Later this land was bundled together, and in 1921 sold off. More houses came with the establishment of the blacksmith. In 1787, the village reached a number of 25 houses, of which 11 were noble, four of which failed, perhaps some of which were at one point glassworks. After the First World War, the house count went from 45 to 60. The population count in 1930 was 334, 13 of which were Czech. An ironworks was built in either 1729 or 1730, as a part of the larger Frauenthal Ironworks. On 10.29.1730, Jakob Tribier was elected to the firm’s management. The hot ovens and other infrastructure were sold off, however the giant smithing hammers remained. The Reichenthaller Hammerworks was the main source industry after 1866. From 1866-1867 the firms Kupfer and Glaser shut some of the inactive smiths and five new ones. From 1909-1926, the Graf took over and regimented the industry. From 1926 to 1938 the firms Naschauer and Polisk managed the foremen. In 1856, Michel Säckl built a chapel. At the so called, “Winkelschule” In 1767 Johann Parlesack was named the School Adjunct. In 1882, the school was expanded into a 2 room school house. The community built a new, tiered schoolhouse in 1896/97, which incorporated children from Neuhäusl in 1941. The last headmaster was Emilian Bauer of Petlarn.
After the First World War, a bank and financial advisory board of four men was established. In 1927, a Czech School was opened. The community of Neuhäusl had no school, but a larger population. Before 1921, there was only one mill and 2,93 hectares of agricultural land. Everyone else was granted a small parcel of land from the local nobility. Most were involved in forestry or the timber industry. There were three Gasthäuser and one store stood in the town. The mill also became a bakery. From 1927 to 1940, a highway was built through the Reichenthal from Roßhaupt to Tachau. Total casualties from the First World War were 17, and in 1930 a monument was constructed in their honor. The Americans arrived in 1945 and brought with them Czech financiers forcing out the Germans.