Most (CZ)

From Stamps of the World
Austro-Hungarian spelling of Brüx 1903
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Most (German: Brüx; Latin: Pons) is the capital city of the Most District, situated between the Central Bohemian Uplands and the Ore Mountains, approximately 77 km (48 mi) northwest of Prague along the Bílina River and southwest of Ústí nad Labem.

The name Most means "bridge" in Czech. The town, which was named after the system of bridges that crossed the swamps in this area in the 10th century, is now mostly known for its heavy industry. The German name for Most is Brüx (derived from the German word for "bridge", Brücke).

In the second half of the 19th century, industry and mining emerged, and in 1870, a railway line was built. Construction included sugar works, porcelain factory, steel works, brewery, and the founding of a city museum. In 1895 the city was affected by quicksand that swallowed several houses, including some of their occupants.

The 1919 Peace Treaties that ended WWI created a new State from the territories of the Czech Lands (Bohemia, Moravia) and of Slovakia. This new confederation was called Czechoslovakia, and Brüx was within the borders of the new state. However, the town was also proclaimed part of the Republic of German-Austria, being part of the continuous German Sprachraum. Czechoslovak authorities ignored principles of ethnic borders and insisted that the town be included in the new Czechoslovak state because it lies within the historic borders of the Kingdom of Bohemia.

Under the Munich Agreement in 1938, using the census-based Völkerkarte Mitteleuropas ethnicities map of 1937, it was found that Brüx fell within the ethnic German-speaking zone which would become part of the Südetenland districts to be separated from Czechoslovakia.

On December 15, 1942, Brüx began output of Ersatz fuel synthesized from brown coal at the Sudetenländische Treibstoffwerke AG (STW) Maltheuren plant, and a subcamp of Sachsenhausen provided forced labor. Stalag IV-C (Wistritz bei Teplitz) was at the "Sudentenland Treibstoff Werke", and Brüx was repeatedly bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II.

In May 1945 Brüx was restored to a reconstituted Communist Czechoslovakia. At that time, Militias and vigilante gangs proceeded to terrorise and expel the ethnic German civilian population as revenge for the atrocities of the Nazis. The city was renamed to its Czech language name of Most, and a degree of resettlement by Czechs took place.

Czech Republic


Postmarks in Austria-Hungary era (1867-1918)

The name BRÜX was used by postmarks of the Austro-Hungarian Empire era.

DC BRÜX on the 1867 issue, Klein type aDv.
Antiqua circle BRÜX in 1881
Grotesk circle in 1903 on granite (silk thread) paper
Hatched in 1907 on a postage due stamp.
Bridge in 1911 on a newspaper stamp
Grotesk circle in 17.1.1917