Kristiánov - lesní hřbitov

Kristiánov is today a quiet forest cemetery in the Jizera Mountains, the last lasting trace of a glassmaking settlement that once thrived on the slope of Černá hora, at roughly 800 meters above sea level, northeast of Bedřichov.

Where did the Kristiánov settlement come from?

The story begins in the mid-1770s, when glass entrepreneur Johann Leopold Riedel built a glassworks here. A small settlement quickly grew around it: a manor house, several glassmakers' cottages, a school, and the cemetery that still exists today. The settlement was named Christianstal (Kristiánov) in honor of Count Christian Philipp Clam-Gallas, owner of the Liberec estate, who provided the land for the glassworks.

What was daily life like in the settlement?

The glassworks furnace was first fired on Epiphany, January 6, 1776, and the first glass was melted less than two weeks later, on January 17. In its early years the works produced utility glassware, but from the late 18th century it specialized in semi-finished products for glass bead making – rods, tubes and sticks – supplied onward to numerous workshops across the region. At its peak, Kristiánov had its own furnace with a tall chimney, its own priest from 1780, a school running from 1848 to 1887 (when it burned down), plus a mill and a sawmill.

Why did the settlement disappear?

The end of Kristiánov's heyday came with a fire in 1887 that destroyed the school and hastened the decline of the whole settlement. The glassworks and surrounding buildings gradually emptied out, and the forest reclaimed the land where a community once lived and worked. What remains to this day is the cemetery – testimony that for more than a century, people tied to the local glassmaking craft lived, worked, and were buried here.

What can visitors see at the Kristiánov cemetery today?

The small forest cemetery holds old grave markers bearing the names of people who, through the 18th and 19th centuries, helped build the reputation of Jizera Mountains glassmaking – among those buried here are both wealthy members of the Riedel family, owners of the glassworks, and ordinary workers. The cemetery, together with the whole area of the former Kristiánov settlement, has been listed as a cultural monument since 1958 and is recorded in the Central List of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic.

Frequently asked questions

Is anything left of the Kristiánov settlement besides the cemetery? The cemetery is the best-preserved element of the former settlement – the residential buildings, glassworks, school, mill and sawmill have left mostly traces in the terrain, with the forest having reclaimed much of the former settlement grounds.

Who is buried at the Kristiánov cemetery? The graves belong to settlement residents, including members of the Riedel family who owned the glassworks, as well as ordinary glassmakers and their families who lived and worked here for over a century.

How far is Kristiánov from Bedřichov? Kristiánov lies northeast of Bedřichov, at the foot of Černá hora, at an elevation of about 800 meters above sea level – it is a popular destination for walks and hikes in the Jizera Mountains.

Since when has the cemetery been protected as a cultural monument? The area of the former Kristiánov settlement, including its cemetery, has been listed as a cultural monument since 1958.