The town's name is of German descent and consists of two parts. The proper noun “Hanns” is equivalent to “John” while “dorf” means “village.” Czech name is an approximate loan translation of the German original. The correct Czech translation of “John” is “Jan” although it is “Hanuš” in this case. "Hanuš" means “Johann” in English. The Czech name also consists of two parts. As already mentioned, “Hanuš” means “Johann” and “–ovice” is a patronymic suffix.
In 1325, the town was owned by the Kolštejn noble family. Most of Hanušovice was destroyed in the Hussite wars and the Czech-Hungary Wars of the 15th century. The town was repopulated by new settlers afterward. The settlers also established the village of Holba. Later, Hanušovice and Holba were united. In the 19th century, many factories were opened, but only breweries remain. Before the Second World War, Hanušovice had 3,351 citizens; 556 were Czech, and the rest were German. During the World War II, the Gross Rosenconcentration camp was located nearby, and Polish Jewish women had to work in factories. The English prisoners of war also worked there. After the war, the whole German population was expelled.
Economy
An unemployment rate was 18,5% in 2011. The town is known for a brewery named Holba. Its production is about 200 000 hectoliters each year. Factory producing ball bearings is situated in south outskirt of the town. Small amphiboliteand gneiss quarry is located near a confluence of Morava River and Krupá Creek. Other job opportunities are in a retail, forestry and bio agriculture.
Demographics
Hanušovice is originally German town. Families of Czech officials and state railways employees immigrated during the inter-war era because Germans were considered to be too disloyal to work in such strategic sectors such as government administration and logistics. The whole German population was expelled in 1946. Abandoned houses were settled by Czechs from other parts of Czech lands, Slovaks, Czech minorities from the Soviet Union, especially from Volhynia and Roma, mostly from Slovakia. The Slovak minority was fully assimilated during that time. Nowadays, Hanušovice is a Czech town with a small Roma community and some migrant workers from Ukraine.
Population history
1869 – 2799 people in 343 houses
1900 – 3924 people in 494 houses
1921 – 4181 people in 550 houses
1930 – 4841 people in 660 houses
1950 – 2919 people in 635 houses
1970 – 3051 people in 444 houses
1991 – 3754 people in 478 houses
2001 – 3599 people in 503 houses.
Culture, sport and architecture
The town hosts a popular beer festival every year. The festival known as “Hanušovické pivní slavnosti” is organized by the Holba Brewery and is situated in the brewery’s areal. Two stages are presented; The first one is used for a performance of popular music while the second is for performances by brass bands. Special kinds of beers are prepared.
