Rudolice nad Bílinou

Rudolice nad Bílinou (Rudolice upon Bílina) is a quarter in the city of Most, Czech Republic. The most well-known part is the settlement of Chánov, which is infamous as a ghetto inhabited by Roma (Gypsies). The population of Chánov is 1,500 - 2,000 (2006 estimate).

Rudolice

Rudolice ^map is one of the quarters of Most. Chánov (officially called "locality Most - 14", "sídliště Most - 14") is administratively part of Rudolice.

The area has been inhabited since the neolithic age. The first written mention of Rudolice (as Rudolfsdorf) comes from 1298. The place was also known under other names, including: Rudoltice, Rudolec, Rudolfsdorf, Rudelsdorf an der Biela. During 1298 - 1349 Osek Monastery (klášter Osek) bought out the estate and kept it until 1848.

Until the end of the 18th century Rudolice was a tiny hamlet; later, the number of inhabitants started to grow, peaking in the period of 1921 (389 inhabitants) - 1930 (1,279 inhabitants). In 1947 the village became part of the city of Most. Much of the housing was torn down during second half of the 1960s to make way for mining and transportation infrastructure.

Today, Rudolice is mainly an industrial area.

Chánov

The area is named after the nearby village of Chánov, administrative part of the village of Obrnice. The settlement is geographically separated by approximately 2km from the rest of Most.

During 1976–1978, 12 large paneláks (concrete tenements) with 380 fully equipped flats, school building and infrastructure was built here to accommodate people from parts of Most torn down to make way for mining. The intention was to create an exemplary community for Roma (Gypsies) living, until then, scattered throughout Most in low quality housing, and to prove that the socialist state was able to integrate them. A government commission visiting Chánov in 1985 found most of the flats in poor condition and the people living in isolation from the rest of the city. About 50 flats were abandoned. The commission recommended that the Roma should not be concentrated in one place, and that ethnic Czechs should be brought in to reconstruct the place.(Details in Czech, p. 115 - 122. The link does not work currently 20/05/11)

This panelák is inhabited

Since the 1990s, Roma started to move into Chánov while the remaining Czechs moved out, creating a de facto ghetto. The Roma, many newly arrived from Slovakia, often lack the skills to assimilate, have low or no education and are unemployed (90% in 2006). Almost every inhabitant is a recipient of state welfare. About 38% of inhabitants are under the age of 15. 94% of the people have only primary education (often not completed).

Chánov lacks the majority of basic services. Hot water was cut off in 2000 as it was not paid for. Families that do not pay electricity have it disconnected, but illegal consumption is common. Almost no one pays the rent. Security is terrible as police patrols prove ineffective, and over time Chánov has become a symbol of Roma ghettoization and criminality. One of the 13 block houses (No.9) was completely derelict and torn down in 2002, several others are damaged and likely to be torn down in the future. 291 flats are inhabited, 64 flats are uninhabitable (2006). The city of Most periodically repairs the houses and the infrastructure (e.g. in 2006 a boiler house was reconstructed at a cost of 30 million CZK).^[1]

Many other places with a high concentration of Roma people in Most and the Czech Republic are in a similar condition. The most populous one is Janov, a quarter of the city of Litvínov^[2]

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ "The largest Roma quarter is in Litvínov" (in Czech). MF Dnes. http://zpravy.idnes.cz/v-litvinove-vznika-nejvetsi-romska-ctvrt-v-cesku-f73-/domaci.asp?c=A070702_112122_domaci_joh. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 

External links

• [Ghetto No. 1: new Czech film documents life at country's biggest Roma ghetto - Czech Radio]
• Description of Chánov
• Statistics about Roma in Chánov (in Czech)
• History of Rudolice, photos (in Czech)
• Documentary about Chánov (13 parts, subtitles in English)

Coordinates: 50°31′N 13°40′E / 50.517°N 13.667°E / 50.517; 13.667