Basic Data

The town of Tanvald...

We can find the town of Tanvald on the confluence of the river Kamenice and the river Desná, on the border between the Jizera and the Krkonoše (Giant) Mountains. The town is located about 12 kilometers to the east of the district town of Jablonec nad Nisou and 25 kilometers of region town Liberec. It is a natural center of public life and also administrative center in a region that is covering the towns and villages Smržovka, Desná, Harrachov, Velké Hamry, Plavy, Zlatá Olešnice, Kořenov, Albrechtice v Jizerských horách and Jiřetín pod Bukovou. This area with administrative center in Tanvald is about 190 square kilometers large and there live here 22 thousand of inhabitans.

The first written note about Tanvald is coming from the second half of the 16th century. Since the 19th century the history of this original timber settlement has been linked to the glass and textile boom, and later also with the electrotechnical and machine industries. Recently, also the tourism is important for the development of the town. Tanvald is a tourist center of the eastern part of the Jizera Mountains. During the whole year it is visited by hundreds of domestic and foreign visitors. With respect to the mountains the most favorite activities are hiking, bicycling and skiing.

Since the change in the political system of the country in 1989 Tanvald has undergone many changes. The town management successfully completed a series of significant projects; some solutions even became the patterns for other towns and villages in the Czech Republic. This concerns, for example, the privatization of the public housing fund, where the town sold more than seven hundred flats to their occupiers and established, with a 100 % share, the company TABYS Ltd. that is responsible for the management of flats. In the area of social welfare a very important act was the construction of the house for pensioners in the town part Šumburk. The supply of flats was extended by the construction of a new residential house in Šumburk. The house includes twenty-eight flats. The rise of a number of private medical attendances, the privatization of the Tanvald Hospital and its modernisation, and the establishment of the Town Health Center in the former court house brought higher quality in the medical services. In the 1990s the reconstruction of several buildings, such as the former court house (today the Town Health Center) in the Krkonošská Street, the Town Hall, the Town Cinema, the Grammar School (Gymnasium), the Masaryk Primary School, and many houses in private property contributed to the improvement of the appearance and cleanness of the town. In September 2000 a new social facility (WC) was opened on the central parking. For the improvement of the environment the construction of the gas heating in the public and private buildings was important. In September 2000 a new refinery of waste water from Tanvald and Desná areas was opened.

In Tanvald there are kindergartens, two primary schools, a grammar school (gymnasium), Commercial Academy, special school for handicapped children, Primary School of Arts and Youth Club. The Town Hall is supporting them by contributing substantial financial means for their operations, modernisation of school buildings and facilities, and for purchases of equipment. The school dining hall EUREST is preparing lunches for the pupils of primary and elementary schools. Schools and the public can use the stadium with the grass surface in the town part Výšina, sport hall, and two all-purpose playing fields with an artificial surface. Sports can be also enjoyed at the natural bath pool with a new social facility, tennis courts, and mini-golf above the Hotel Bon. Skiers can use the nearby center Špičák, ski-center Parlament in Desná, ski-centers in nearby Harrachov or Rokytnice, and other winter-sport destinations in the Jizera and Krkonoše (Giant) Mountains.

Tanvald and its surrounding is offering a variety of accommodation services ranging from rooms in private houses, family guest houses and cottages, over up to luxury hotels. Visitors can use a wide offer of restaurants and shops. In Tanvald is Penny Market and the Discount Plus, which enrich the shopping site of the town.

The town management also continuously supports various cultural events. In 1993 the Town Entertainment Office was founded. The office has been managing most cultural and social events in the town. There are festivals with a long tradition, such as the Tanvald Musical Spring, the Autumn Cycle of Chamber Music, the festival of amateur film makers - HAF (Humor in Amateur Film). In 1994 a new tradition of the Tanvald Celebrations was set up. Town exercises too Town Cinema Jas, which from spring 2001 after rebuilding and renovation serve as multipurpose amenities.

The Town Hall is informing about events in the town through its own monthly periodical called "Tanvaldský zpravodaj", through the town´s broadcasting in the local cable TV, and on its web pages www.tanvald.cz . Information about all services in the town and its surrounding can be obtained in the Infocenter Tanvald that was created by the Town Hall in 1996. In the Infocenter there is also the headquarter of the periodical "Tanvaldský zpravodaj".

In various areas of public life Tanvald cooperates with the surrounding towns and villages and also with its foreign partners. In June 1993 Tanvald signed the partnership agreement with the German town Wittichenau (Saxony, Germany) and Burbach (Northern Rhineland - Vestphalia, Germany) in 1995. Partnership with Marcinowice in Walbrzych region in Poland has started from year 2004. These partnerships already enabled many joint workshops, various kinds of meetings, joint sport cups, exchanges and trips.