Czarny Niedźwiedź (Schwarzer Bär)

The building number 5 on Kleine Wilhelmstrasse in Bad Warmbrunn (today Źródlana 5 in Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój) belonged to the master tailor Josef Kutnar. It housed an inn called Schwarzer Bär, which, according to the guide from 1873 titled “Heilquellen und Kurorte Führer durch das Schlesische Gebirge,” was a first-class inn.

Building on Źródlana Street in Cieplice today / Photo by Marta Maćkowiak

On February 6, 1887, Josef married Marta née Markwirth in Bad Warmbrunn (Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój).

Josef was born on September 22, 1863, in the town of Mlázovice in Czechia, the son of Josef and Franziska née Stanisław. He may have been related to František Kutnar, a renowned Czech historian who also hailed from Mlázovice. Marta Markwirth was a native of Warmbrunn, born on August 18, 1868, the daughter of the trader August and Augusta née Liebig. Josef and Marta had seven children: Erich, Alfred, Elfriede Hedwig, Otto Wilhelm, Klara Emma, Arthur Gerhard, and Oskar Friedrich. Unfortunately, only three of them survived to adulthood – the eldest daughter, Elfriede, and the two youngest sons, Arthur Gerhard and Oskar Friedrich.

Marriage certificate of Josef and Marta / Source: State Archives in Wrocław, Jelenia Góra branch

According to the 1927 address book, Josef lived in a house near the river at Hospitalstrasse 9, just a 2-minute walk away (now Staromiejska 11A). In 1939, he moved back to his inn at number 5 – the street was now called Am Friedrischsbad. Also residing there were his son-in-law, Elfriede’s husband Otto Klötzke, a weaver by profession, widow Käthe Mustroff, police commander Paul Kath, senior prosecutor Lothar Jensch, and worker Martha Schäfer. Further details of their fate are currently unknown.

Details of the building that once hosted the inn / Photos by Marta Maćkowiak

Sources:

Private archive of Marta Maćkowiak
Archiwum Państwowe we Wrocławiu oddział w Jeleniej Górze (State Archives in Wrocław, Jelenia Góra branch)

Czarny Niedźwiedź (Schwarzer Bär)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply