History

Varnsdorf Square in 1916

The original village was founded in the second half of the 13th century, the first written record dates back to 1352. After the merger of Stary Varnsdorf with five surrounding settlements (1849), the largest village in the Austrian Empire was established with 10,000 inhabitants. In 1868 Varnsdorf was promoted to a town. In the last two centuries, the town was shaped mainly by the development of the textile industry, but today it is also represented by engineering, food industry, etc.

The town's cultural history was marked by the liturgical premiere of Beethoven's Missa solemnis (festive mass, 1830) and the post-war activities of composer Bjarnat Krawiec and his daughter Hanka Krawiec (both buried in the local cemetery). Today the musical traditions are continued by the concert cycles of the Varnsdorf Music Summer. Varnsdorf also has its place in the history of the Church: the protest against the dogma of papal infallibility gave rise to a movement which culminated in the establishment of the Old Catholic Church with a bishopric in Varnsdorf (1872).