Chronical Overview
1101 - The Benedictine Monastery was founded by Oldrich of Brno and Litolt of Znojmo, two princes from the Moravian branch of the House of Premyslites. This is the first fixed point of reference in the centuries-long history of the City of Trebic.
1277 - In the oldest surviving document abbot Martin speaks highly about the merits of Herman in Trebic (Hermanni in Trebetz in the Latin original). On the basis of the analysis of the document the above Herman is considered the lokator, i.e. the founder of Trebic. We know from the document that Herman's house served as mayor's office (rychta) and later as the City Hall, for which purpose it has been used up to the present.
1335 - Margrave Karel (later Emperor Karel IV) together with his father, the Czech King Jan Lucembursky granted Terebic the privilege whereby they elevated its rights to the level equal to the rights of the Royal City of Znojmo. The main benefit this privilege had for a medieval city was the right to erect ramparts and the possibility of introducing the then state-of-the-art fundamentals of legal system into its society. The Moravian Margrave Karel and the Czech King Jan Lucembursky adopted the city under their protection and warned everybody who might want to infringe its rights. Thus Trebic was able to get rid of its one-sided reliance on the monastery although it stayed out of the royal city status.
1468 - The Czech-Hungarian War. On May 12 Hungarian troops laid siege to Trebic, conquering it on May 14. Matthias of Hungary sent a proud letter describing his victory to Czech Catholics: "... and so Trebic has been conquered, destroyed, and burned to the ground." 1468 is a real watershed in the history of Trebic, the city was wiped off the map for several years. According to chronicler Elias Strelka there was probably a stretch of seven years when the city was reduced to charred and deserted ruins although only recently it had been eclipsing other Moravian cities with the great number of its inhabitants, thriving handicrafts and trade and the affluence of its citizens. The subsequent reconstruction of the city spun off what is called today Karlovo Square (Karlovo namesti), which is among the three largest squares in the Czech Republic (total area approx. 2 1/2 hectares, approx. 400m long, approx. 60m wide).
1478 - Between 1468 and 1490 there are only fragmentary and extremely scanty records about Trebic. The city was considered "the property won by sword" and at those times of war nobody bothered to obey legal norms. It can only be said for sure that since 1478 Trebic, together with part of the estates belonging to the Trebic Monastery, had been owned by the leader of Lords' Union Zdenek of Stenberk. The House of Stenberk owned the estate till approximately 1484.
1483 - That year the Czech King Vladislav sought refuge in Trebic from a plague epidemic, granting some privileges to Czech nobility.
1490 - On December 14, 1490 King Vladislav pledged the Trebic Monastery to Vilem of Pernstejn. The House of Pernstejn held the Trebic estate in pledge till 1556 when Vratislav of Pernstejn gained hereditary possession of the city.
1525 - Jan of Pernstejn, captain of Moravia and the then owner of the estate signed an agreement with Arkleb Cernohorsky of Boskovice whereby he surrendered the Trebic estate to Arkleb's son and Jan Jetrich, his son-in-law. Although the estate reverted to the House of Pernstejn several years later, this agreement proved very significant. During Arkleb Cernohorsky's control of the estate the rest of monks was expelled from the Benedictine Monastery, thus allowing the city to switch for good from church administration to secular feudal administration.
1556 - 1557 - Sometime during this period (although the entry in records was made as late as 1558) Burian Osovsky of Doubravice became the owner of the Trebic Monastery, including its farmland, mill, the City of Trebic itself together with its suburban areas and adjacent villages. In 1568 his son Smil Osovsky took charge of the estate, initiating some important changes in Trebic.
1573 - Smil Osovsky enacted in Trebic Peasant's Charter and ten years later Municipal Charter. He was one of the few masters of the Trebic estate who managed to generate any significant change in its economic situation. His 'Charters' were without a doubt supposed to protect primarily feudal ownership by imposing most severe punishments. For instance, you could have your eyes gouged out for poaching fish in your master's pond.
1582 - Trebic was granted the right to use red sealing wax.
2nd half of the 15th century - A school was built on Masarsky Street (Masarska ulice). Already in 1556, however, the school's capacity proved too small to meet the needs of the city and therefore a new facility was built. Since 1557 we have had evidence of a second school established under the auspices of Czech Brethren's congregation.
1614 - Katerina of Valdstejn, Smil Osovsky's widowed wife (she was actually his second wife) married Karel of Zerotin the elder but the Trebic estate stayed in her possession. In 1628 prior to leaving the country for religious reasons she ceded her estate to her brother Adam of Valdstejn. Another consequence of her emigration is the fact that she ordered in her will (1637) the principle of seniority, according to which the oldest member of the family is the heir apparent. Through her will she also established fideicomis, which prohibited the heir to diminish the property by debt or in any other way. As a result of this, the estate remained for good the property of the House of Valdstejn, who owned it till 1945. In the conditions of the Czech Republic this is an incredibly long-standing ownership of an estate by one family.
1619 - That year the Trebic Castle provided accommodations for one night to the Czech King Fridrich Falcky whose short-lived rule earned him the nickname 'The Winter King'. 'The Winter King' was crowned in St. Vitus' Cathedral by Jiri Dykast and by the Trebic-born Elder of Brethren's Unity, Jan Cyrillius Spalek, future father-in-law of Jan Amos Komensky (Komensky's both wives came from Trebic, the first of them, Magdalena Vizovska; the second, Dorotta Spalkova, daughter of the above-mentioned Jan Cyrillius Spacek).
1622 - 1623 - These years were among the worst for Trebic. A cavalry regiment of Emperor's Spain-born general Baltazar de Marradas et Vique moved into the city. The regiment numbered 500 cavalrymen, the officer corps exclusive. This meant a heavy burden even for such a relatively big and populous city as Trebic. According to a surviving memorandum drawn up by the City Council on March 30, 1622, Marradas' soldiers received over the 12 weeks of their stay 27,278 Rhenish guilders in cash, more than 6,500 guilders' worth of oats for their horses and another 12,000 Rhenish guilders were spent by townsmen to feed the soldiers. The following year, when Gabor Bethlen declared war on the Emperor, the city found itself once again jeopardized after it had received a warning letter from Petr Chihkl. Although only a few days later a peace agreement was reached, thus sparing Trebic of immediate danger, the city was not able to escape another, although this time 'only' financial, disaster: two Silesian regiments had encamped in the city. The 23-day long stay of 3,000 soldiers in Trebic cost the city a total of 90,000 golden guilders.
1671 - St. Martin's Parish was elevated to deanery, which marked a very important stage in the re-catholization of Trebic. Trebic had enjoyed for many years religious freedom. During the House of Osovsky's control of the city, nobility affiliated with Brethrens' Unity came to Trebic. Karel of Zerotin, Katerina of Valdstejn's second husband, for instance, was by his religious faith a Czech Brethren with certain inclination towards Calvinism. Although in 1628 the Protestant nobility had to escape to Vratislav in Slezia because of their religious faith, still as late as 1657 when an Inquisition Commission came to Trebic to investigate the charges brought by Polna's Dean Krystov Kazimir Buresovsky to the Emperor Leopold II the Commission found from the testimonies delivered by townsmen a strong presence of Hussites, Pikards, Lutherans, Brethren of Boleslav and nulliuses, who, when questioned by the Commission, claimed that they actually were not sure what their religion was.
1765 - 1769 - During this period two consecutive years of poor crops made the inhabitants of Trebic live on grass, nettles, saltweed, and even tree bark. The subsequent famine claimed scores of victims in the city. Poor crops combined with famine repeated in 1771 and 1772, again with all the destructive consequences. This was actually one of the causes that sparked off a great peasant rebellion in 1775 which, as far as Moravia is concerned, turned out to be the strongest in its southwestern part where military troops had to be sent in to stamp it out (memorial dedicated to this rebellion is in the Lesonice Castle, around 18km from Trebic).
1805 - Trebic was sent into another economic slump in the aftermath of an enemy invasion during the Napoleonic Wars (1805-1806). During the war of the Third Coalition against Napoleon the entire First Army Corps under the command of marshal Benadott passed through Trebic between November 19 and November 26. The French army was welcomed to the city by vicar Dvorecky. Marshal Benadotte refused to be accommodated in the Trebic Castle, instead deciding to stay in councilman Ignac Hladik's house, which was right on the central square. Trebic had to feed thousands of soldiers for the entire four days. Before long there was such a shortage of food that it was impossible to get the smallest pierce of bread in the whole of Trebic. That is why the French had to move on to the north. The City Hall estimated the total cost of the incursion of two French divisions, which encamped in the city after the Battle of Slavkov from December 9 through 29, at 300,000 golden guilders (note of interest: Bernadotte later became the King of Sweden).
1819 - Between 1815-1817 the country was beset once again with poor crops. Moreover, in 1819 a raging plague epidemic broke out in livestock. Consequently, Trebic held no fairs for several years and the city's economy slid into a serious depression.
1821 - 1822 - The early 1820s saw another tragic era for Trebic due to devastating fires. In 1821 the last rebellion against forced labor flared up in Moravia. Rebels from the surrounding villages were taken to the Trebic Castle where they were punished by being beaten with clubs. This caused a great stir amongst the people living both in Trebic and in the villages in its vicinity. Before long the city was swamped with incendiary leaflets, which threatened to set the whole of Trebic alight, including the castle. The leaflets also threatened that the incendiary retribution would not stop until the aristocracy stops to subjugate people. And, indeed, these threats started to be made good. On May 3, 1821 100 houses burned down in the Jewish part of Trebic, another 50 houses burned down in Podklasteri and the fire even reached out to Tyn where it left in ashes several wooden barns. On May 17 Neighbors' Hospital together with more than a half of Jejkov (38 houses, including the parson) were destroyed by fire and on July 7 all stalls, barns and other outbuildings belonging to the Trebic Castle burned down. Before the reconstruction of the buildings destroyed by the fire had been half finished, another fire flared up, spelling for Trebic the worst disaster since 1468. On Friday, June 14, 1822 the House 'U zlateho lva' (Golden Lion's House) on the central square caught fire which developed into the most devastating fire in the city's living memory. 290 houses, the church, and the tower were reduced to ashes; the total damage was estimated at no less than 1 million golden guilders. (Footnote: Jejkov, Tyn, Jewish Town are all parts of the City of Trebic).
1830 - 1836 - In the 1830s natural disasters continued to trouble the city. In 1830 Trebic experienced severe floods. The whole central square was flooded with water reaching in some houses as high as the second floor, destroying all the bridges and causing a total damage of 100,000 golden guilders in houses and other properties. Between 1832 and 1836 the city was beleaguered with cholera. Deaths were so frequent that the habit of announcing every new death with the death knell was dismissed. Funeral processions were also restricted and mourners were not allowed to sound bells in them.
19th century - In this century Trebic saw a significant expansion of its tanneries and shoe industry. Prior to the 19th century draperies were among the most important industries in the city. Some other important guilds in the city were the guilds of soap makers, candle makers, weavers and tailors. Further development of tanneries in Trebic was boosted by the prosperous years of the Seven Years' War. Tanner's workshops gradually developed into small production facilities (unlike drapers whose myopic resistance to this development sent their trade into a deep crisis). It was most notably the factory operated by the Starecce-based family of Budischowskys, which developed into a leading tanning facility. By 1845 the Trebic tanneries had made so much progress that two of them were introduced with a lot of success at the Vienna Industrial Exhibition. Karel Budischowsky's firm participated in the exhibition that featured calf leathers for shoemakers and sheep hides. All its products were recognized as of the best quality. The business also received a lot of appreciation for the fact that its great consumption of spruce tan provided the Trebic area population with the possibility of gaining some income. This earned Budischowsky's firm a bronze medal. Another participant in the exhibition, M. Hassek, put on display a variety of leathers tanned and prepared by different methods with a very good finish and marketed at reasonable prices. Thanks to low prices and good sales figures Hassek was awarded with an honorable mention. Trebic in the mid-19th century already boasted four major production facilities, which used the then state-of-the-art manufacturing methods. There were the factories operated by Karel Budischowsky and Frantisek Budischowsky, together with Hassek's and Subak's businesses based in the Jewish part of the city.
1849 - The first Czech organization of middle-class bourgeoisie named Mestanska beseda (Townsmen's Club) started to put down roots in Trebic. However, the club languished under Bach's autocratic rule after it had been imposed in the country. There was a mounting fear of persecution of the club and its members. Members of Townsmen's Club were exposed to round-the-clock spying, they had to face charges accusing them of 'ploys perilous for the country', they had their houses searched, etc. The club's activity gradually started to flag, grinding to a halt sometime in late 1851 or early 1852. Only after the fall of Bach's autocracy was it possible to bring back to life Czech clubs, parties and associations and among them it was also Townsmen's Club in Trebic in 1861 as one of the first Czech cultural associations in Moravia.
1863 - The Municipal Savings Bank was founded. Its premises on the central square were built in 1932 according to the project of the Brno architect Bohuslav Fuchs. At that time it was a remarkable and a very practically-designed building.
1871 - Another success of nationalist sentiments in Trebic: the opening of the National House for Social and Cultural Life. Just like when the National Theater in Prague was being built, also the citizens of Trebic had to wait long before they had managed to collect enough money for 'their own shrine of arts'. In the same year cultural life in Trebic was also enriched with the foundation of a Czech grammar school which, in spite of all the attempts of the government to force German ways onto it, delivered to the Czech nation a lot of important figures. The foundation of the grammar school sent Trebic among the leading cities of southwestern Moravia.
1885 - The sculptures of St. Cyrilius and St. Methodius in what is now Karlovo Square (Karlovo namesti) were erected. There had been attempts to put up these sculptures in Trebic since 1867. Josef Vaclav Myslbek was asked to make a model. In 1870 this model sculpture was put on view to the public in Trebic. A public collection was held (just like earlier the collection for the National House) so that the project could materialize. The preparatory works, however, were making little headway. The scheme became hot and topical once again as the anniversary in 1885 neared. In 1883 Trebic resumed negotiations with Myslbek but in the end financial reasons made the city choose a different sculptor for the job. The city entered into negotiations with the sculptor Simek and after he had been recommended by the Christian Academy in Prague and by Bishop Bauer in Brno, it was decided to break negotiations with Myslebek and commission Simek to make the sculptures. The sculptures of St. Cyrilius and St. Methodius were finally made according to Simek's design by the sculptor Bernard Seeling.
1886 - A first train passed through Trebic, heralding the completion of a direct railroad link with the world.
1902 - Doctor Jaroslav Bakes brought into operation a new hospital in Trebic. Jaroslav Bakes later became head doctor of the Regional Hospital in Brno. He was also the founder of the Oncological Institute in Brno. Before the opening of this new hospital in 1902, there was only a municipal hospital whose foundation in 1854 was funded exclusively from voluntary contributions and donations. However, this hospital was deep below standard. Patients had to be rushed to Brno, Jihlava or Znojmo for operations. Medical care was provided in the second half of the 19th century by physicians Jan Hanel and Frantisek Dreuschuch. Doctor Dreuschuch was one of the wackiest citizens of Trebic. This doctor-philanthropist was continually hard up even at the times when he was already a respected municipal doctor since he had never gotten paid by his patients, actually never bothering to ask anybody to pay him. People liked him very much for his sense of humor. Up to these days you can hear in Trebic tales about his adventures, about some of which you can find out more in the regional sources of the Municipal Library. The Jewish part of Trebic and Podklasteri were the responsibility of doctor Sigmund Schuschny and folk healer Jakub Schwarz.
1931 - The investor Tomas Bata bought from the Moravian Bank the former Budischowski company. Starting from 1936 new production facilities of Bata's Company were built here on the basis of successful building modules designed in Zlin in the studios of at that time already world-famous architects Frantisek Gahura, Vladimir Kafik and Miroslav Lorenc. These architects also designed the houses in Trebic's characteristic working-class neighborhood called Borovina. Today the former premises of Baťa's Company serve as headquarters of the BOPO Company, a footwear producer; and of the Trepon Company, which makes socks and pantyhoses.
1939 - 1945 - The war years hit hardest the Jewish part of Trebic's population. Nazi genocide put an end to the centuries-long Jewish settlement in Trebic. Between May 18 and May 19, 1942 German occupying authorities ordered to concentrate and deport 281 Jews resident in Trebic (out of the total of 1370 persons deported from the wide area around Trebic and from the Jihlava area) to the concentration camp in Terezin and from there to extermination camps in the East. Only 10 persons made it back to Trebic in 1945 (a total of 35 persons from the entire original exodus made it back home).
1970 - 1980 - Once again Trebic experienced some profound changes in its looks this time thanks to the construction of a nuclear power plant in the nearby Dukovany. Trebic had to adjust to an increased inflow of new inhabitants; new housing developments sprung up, just like new health, school, and accommodation facilities. Also, a new bus station was built.
THE PRESENT - The current development schemes of the city do their utmost to build upon the legacy left by our ancestors. Those who knew Trebic before 1989 (the fall of the communist rule) can really appreciate the new, fresh looks of the city. Trebic boasts a host of new buildings, most of which were built by local construction businesses. Special efforts are being channeled into the project that should boost further development of the Trebic historic preservation area on the left bank of the River Jihlava (with a special emphasis on the Jewish Town). City Hall in cooperation with the ABF (City Landscape and Construction Industry Development Foundation) set up the Trebic Fund whose main purpose is to channel all the funding that is available into the implementation of the above mentioned project. A pilot scheme which has shown possible ways of harmonizing housing and commercial functions in this part of Trebic without causing its depopulation is the recent reconstruction of the house No. 3 in Subakova Street (Subakova ulice). The house contains three apartments, including janitor's apartment, an information bureau, a studio, ABF's offices, and a guesthouse consisting of 5 rooms, which are used primarily by City Hall to accommodate its official visiting guests. At those times when there are vacancies, the guesthouse can accommodate any visitor to the city. The building is connected to the Back Synagogue, which has been recently reconstructed and is currently used as a picture gallery and concert hall. Those who would like to find out more about the renovation scheme should visit ABF's office at the address mentioned above.
