Luby (Cheb District)

Historic timeline

400–1500: Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Schönenbach served as the community center for the area countryside, and was referred to as Schönbacher Ländchens ("Beautiful Little Country Brook"). During the mid-13th Century in Upper Schönenbach (Horni Luby), mercury ore, particularly the vermilion variety, was mined in the area. In the 16th Century, the ore was regarded as the most important in Central Europe. In 1536, about 200 miners had produced about 13.5 tons of cinnabar from several area mines.

1618–1648: Thirty Years' War

During the Thirty Years' War, the mining came to a complete standstill. In the latter-half of the 17th Century, Schönbach flourished as a center of violin making.

1867–1918: Schönbach, Austria-Hungary

Schönbach was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The village was located within the boundaries of the Eger District created by the Austria-Hungary monarchy. In 1900, Schönbach gained access to electricity and the railroad, which allowed the city to ramp-up production of goods, including musical instruments.

1918–1938: Schönbach, Czechoslovakia

The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918, after World War I, and Schönbach became part of Czechoslovakia. In 1929, about 1,500 Schönbach craftsmen were employed making string instruments.

1938–1945: Schönbach, Germany (during the occupation)

In 1938, following the Great Depression, Germany took possession of the western region of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland, and occupied it until the end of World War II.

1946–1992: Luby, Czechoslovakia

In 1946, right after World War II, Czechoslovakia restored the pre-1938 border and changed the name "Schönbach" (a German name) to "Luby" (a Czech name). Following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, Czechoslovakia fell under communist rule. In 1949, residents with German ethnicity were expelled from Czechoslovakia. About two-thirds of the Schönbach population were German, among which, about 1,600 were instrument makers. The instrument makers mostly settled in Bubenreuth of Erlangen, which, before then, only had about 500 residents. Bubenreuth was, at that time, in the American zone of what became West Germany.

Notable luthiers and music instrument companies

Music instrument merchants & companies

Violin makers

Guitar makers

In 1948, when the communist party took power in Czechoslovakia, the production of music instruments was nationalized and unified into a single Luby-based company called Cremona that had been in existence since 1920. All manufactures and small workshops were part of this company. In 1992, Cremona was privatized and renamed "Strunal," which since as exported under the label of Josef Jan Dvorak (for bowed instruments) and Strunal or Amada (for guitars). Strunal, in its corporate literature, purports to be the largest manufacturer of stringed musical instruments in Europe. The name Strunal is derived from the Czech spelling of "String" ("Struna") and "Luby."

Notable People

Walter Aue (born 1930), German writer

Willi Brandner (1909–1944), Sudeten German Nazi brigade leader and major general of the police, and the leader of the police force in Nazi Germany

Gerold Karl Hannabach (1928–2015), German guitar maker

Herta Huber (born 1926), German writer and poet

Ernst Volkmann (1902−1941), German war veteran