Kraslice

Kraslice
Town
Town hall
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Karlovy Vary
District	Sokolov
Commune	Kraslice
Elevation	514 m (1,686 ft)
Coordinates	50°19′45″N 12°30′31″E / 50.32917°N 12.50861°E / 50.32917; 12.50861Coordinates: 50°19′45″N 12°30′31″E / 50.32917°N 12.50861°E / 50.32917; 12.50861
Area	81.35 km2 (31.41 sq mi)
Population	7,299 (2006-07-03)
Density	90/km2 (233/sq mi)
First mentioned	1272
Mayor	Zdenek Brantl
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	358 01 - 358 03
Location in the Czech Republic
Location in Sokolov District
Website: www.kraslice.cz

Kraslice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkraslɪtsɛ]; German: Graslitz) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland.

The town is situated on the southern slopes of the eastern reaches of the Ore Mountains, some 5 km from the neighbouring German town of Klingenthal. It lies in an area known for swarm type seismic activity. The last strong earthquake swarm was in 1986.

The city lies on railway line No 145 from Sokolov to Klingenthal. Passenger services are provided by the railway company of Viamont.

German monks from Waldsassen Abbey in Bavaria were the first to settle the upper Svatava valley in the 12th century. The town was granted regal city status by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1370. In 1944 a women's subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was established here.

The roots of the name derive from the medieval German "Graz", meaning pine forest. Many variants were used throughout the town's history: Greselin, Zum Greselin, Gresslens, Gresslas, Gresslitz, Graeslitz and Graslitz. The Czech name is a transliteration of the last used German name.

Graslitz had 13.936 inhabitants on December 1, 1930, 6.294 inhabitants May 22, 1947 and currently has some 7,000 inhabitants – a significant decrease from the pre-World War II population figure of around 20,000, due to the expulsion of the German-speaking population after that war.