Olešnice, Czech Republic

 I've never heard of Olešnice but my mom has.  She saw a TV program about festivals in the Czech Republic, or something, where fabric is dyed with indigo.  I asked around but none of my colleagues had heard about it either so I had to do a bit of digging on the Internet.

Olešnice is a small village in Moravia with a population of +1,700 people.  The village is about an hour away from Brno by bus.  Apparently there is some good skiing near Olešnice. 


St. Lawrence Church was consecrated in 1426.  It sits on the remains of a wooden church built in 1391 by the descendants of settlers originally from Germany.  The tower and facade were renovated in 2004.

The Danzinger Shop

The Danzinger Blueprint workshop is a family business that dates back to 1816.  The production methods have been unchanged since 1849.


It's possible to take a 45-minute tour of the production area to see how how fabric is dyed indigo blue and the designs are stenciled.

The tour was in Czech but it was possible to follow along.  The family patriarch explained that during socialism, the family had to dismantle some of the equipment and bury it so that it would not get confiscated by the state.

Additions to mom's souvenir collection

The shop has all kinds of nifty things for sale which all make really great souvenirs.  My mom and aunt both picked up a few gifts for people back home.