Březí
The following text is taken from the document "Notes on the Design of the Municipal Coat of Arms and Flag," prepared for the municipality of Malečov in 2020 by Stanislav Kasík for the Heraldic Office "Dauphin" in Roudnice nad Labem. Published with the permission of the author and the municipality of Malečov.
Březí is mentioned in 1057 in the same historical sources as Malečov. Both villages had the same history.
In 1787, Březí ("Presey") was part of the allodial manor of Svádov, held by Christian August, Prince of Waldeck. The village consisted of 26 houses (Schaller, V., 1787, p. 292).
In 1833, the village of Březí ("Presey", "Přeseg") belonged to the estate of Svádov, which was part of the allodial manor of Ploskovice and Záhořany. Its owner at that time was Leopold II, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany. The village consisted of 31 houses with 189 inhabitants, one farm, a hunting lodge, and a mill known as "Schwartzthaler-Mühle" ("Czernodolský Mill") on the stream north of the village. It was affiliated with Svádov (St. James the Greater; Sommer, I. 1833, p. 357).
In 1848, the village of Březí ("Presey") consisted of 31 houses with 185 inhabitants and belonged to the estate of Svádov, within the estate of Ploskovice, whose owner was Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Palacký, Description, 1848, p. 72).
In 1880, there were 34 houses and 203 inhabitants of German nationality in Březí ("Presei", "Presey"). The village is situated on a stream of the same name, where there is a mill. It was affiliated with Svádov (St. James the Greater). It belonged to the governorate and political district of Ústí nad Labem (OSN IV., 1891, p. 656).
The following interpretation is made of the name. In Czech, the village was originally called "Břieza", from the 15th century "Březí". The ending -ei in the German name was derived from the Czech -í, i.e., from the form "Březí". The form "Březí" originated from the Old Czech collective "břežie", modern Czech "březí" (German: Birkenwald - Birch Forest). Some of the villages with this name were originally called "Birch", i.e., named after an individual birch tree of some importance or memory (Profous, I., 1954, p. 182).
Photo Documentation
The published photographs are protected by copyright. If you are interested in downloading them, please send us a message at info@malecovskyrozhled.cz. The photographs come from private archives, the book by Petr Špaček "How it was in Ústí nad Labem 2," and especially from the archives of the Ústí nad Labem City Museum.
