The city Krnov developed gradually. This is evidenced by written documents that recall the site and later in the second half of the 13th century, the city with the Slavic name Kyrnow and later called the German Jägendorf. The gradual development is also evidenced by the irregular ground plan of the historic core and the network of original streets. This arrangement did not change until the second half of the 19th century, as the city was surrounded by walls whose remains are still visible in the torsion. Three gates led into the city, matching the important paths that passed through. Krnov was a crossroads of trade routes in the direction of Opava, Bruntál - Olomouc and in the north direction to Hlubčice (Glubczyce, today PL). The basic formation of the town was completed in the 13th century.
The city flourished through trade and advanced drapery.
By dividing the Principality of Opava in 1377, an independent Krnov Principality was established with its administrative institutions and authorities.
In 1523, the principality was sold to Margrave George Hohenzollern of Ansbach, the Hohenzollerns built a chateau in Krnov, which is an important landmark of the city center. The last Hohenzollern in the Krnov estate was Jan Jiří Krnovský, commander-in-chief of the troops of Friedrich Palatinate. He was confiscated for his opposition to the Emperor and Karel of Lichtenstein became the new owner of Krnov. The fate of this family is associated with Krnov until 1945.
They fundamentally influenced the development of the city of war between Austria and Prussia. The peace of 1742 meant the division of territory and the loss of historically created economic ties. The whole of Hlubčice (now PL) was detached, Krnov became a border town, and the economic interests of Krnov had to be reoriented from Silesia to Moravia and Austria.
The town with industrialization lost its medieval appearance and closeness in the second half of the 19th century. After the demolition of the city walls, factories focused primarily on textile production grew up on such loose lands, later also engineering (textile machinery, railway workshops). Since the 1870s, the important tradition of organ production of the Rieger Brothers Factory has been associated with Krnov. The railway also contributed to the modernization of the city, the first train passing through Krnov in 1872. Trains went to Krnov from Opava, Olomouc, Hlucholaz (PL) and Hlubcice (PL).
During the short period of 1869 - 1910, the population of Krnov doubled. In addition to industrial buildings, new streets and squares were built in this period, public buildings, prominent architects of Austria-Hungary and Germany participated in the reconstruction and construction of factory villas.
The form of the town of Krnov and the life of its inhabitants was tragically affected by World War II. The city was created by colonization and most of its inhabitants also claimed German nationality in the 1930s. At the beginning of 1945, Krnov was seriously damaged by the bombing of Allied troops, and the streets in the historic center disappeared during the post-war removal of debris. German residents were displaced and the arrival of new inhabitants from various corners of Czechoslovakia meant the loss of traditions of the territory. The image of the city was also severely damaged by the removal of valuable historical buildings in the 1970s and 1980s.

Present

The recent history of Krnov was marked by the devastating flood that flooded almost the entire city in 1997. In addition to losing one human life and huge material damage (440 million crowns) on buildings and roads, she fell victim to a hundred trees in urban parks, and urban forests also suffered great losses.
In the last two decades, Krnov has changed from an industrial city to a green city. Most of the buildings have been restored and care for greenery is getting the same attention. The city's priorities are conceptually focused not only on historical parks, but a number of new localities have emerged, in the city itself and in suburban forests that provide a pleasant environment and refreshment not only to the city's inhabitants but also to its visitors. Fulfilling the goals of creating a city atmosphere not only pleasant to look at, but also auspicious and kind to life, has brought Krnov the prestigious City of Trees 2008/2009 title.

Resource

www.krnov.cz