Stará Červená Voda

Stará Červená Voda (German: Alt Rothwasser) is a municipality and village in Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants.

Stará Červená Voda
Municipality
Church of Corpus Christi
Flag Coat of arms
Stará Červená Voda Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°19′46″N 17°12′4″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Olomouc
District	Jeseník
First mentioned	1266
Area
• Total	36.62 km2 (14.14 sq mi)
Elevation	304 m (997 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	591
• Density	16/km2 (42/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	790 53
Website	staracervenavoda.cz

Administrative division

Stará Červená Voda consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

• Stará Červená Voda (369)
• Nová Červená Voda (191)

Geography

Stará Červená Voda is located about 11 kilometres (7 mi) north of Jeseník and 81 km (50 mi) north of Olomouc, on the border with Poland. The northern part of the municipality with the built-up area lies in the Žulová Hilly Land. The southern forested part belongs to the Golden Mountains. The highest point is the Sokolí vrch mountain at 967 m (3,173 ft) above sea level.

History

The first written mention of Stará Červená Voda is in a deed from 1291, which described the situation in 1266.^[3] It was then part of the Duchy of Nysa within fragmented Piast-ruled Poland. Later on, along with the Duchy of Nysa, it passed under Bohemian suzerainty, and following the duchy's dissolution in 1850, it was incorporated directly into Bohemia. Following World War I, from 1918, it formed part of Czechoslovakia.

From 1938 to 1945, the municipality was occupied by Germany. It was the base for a German-operated working party (E433) of British and Commonwealth prisoners of war, under the administration of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp at Łambinowice.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 2,235 —     1880 2,336 +4.5% 1890 2,328 −0.3% 1900 2,108 −9.5% 1910 2,135 +1.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 1,992 −6.7% 1930 2,101 +5.5% 1950 958 −54.4% 1961 922 −3.8% 1970 794 −13.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 723 −8.9% 1991 681 −5.8% 2001 654 −4.0% 2011 663 +1.4% 2021 560 −15.5%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality. On the Czech-Polish border is the road border crossing Stará Červená Voda / Jarnołtów.

Sights

The main landmark of Stará Červená Voda is the Church of Corpus Cristi. It has an early Gothic core, which makes it one of the oldest churches in the region. It was rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1755–1756. The presbytery is decorated by frescoes from around 1510.^[7]