Plöß was probably founded before 1600 by "Tausern", German settlers who settled or annexed Bohemian land from Taus. Plöß was first mentioned in a document in 1606. In 1789 it was listed as "Pleß" under the entailed rulership of Heiligenkreuz. In Sommer Plöß was mentioned in 1839 as a village with 54 houses and 483 inhabitants. The name "Plöß" probably comes from "nudity" - a clearing hewn into the forest. In 1913 Plöß already had 67 houses with 642 inhabitants. Wenzelsdorf and Straßhütte were districts of Plöß.
The census of December 1, 1930 reports the following result for Plöß:
Plöß: 105 houses, 707 German residents, 8 Czechs, 11 foreigners.
Straßhütte: 1 house, 4 German residents.
Wenzelsdorf: 61 houses, 452 German residents, 1 foreigner.
For 1939 the following is recorded about Plöß:[4]
Wenzelsdorf with 31 houses and 371 inhabitants
Rappauf with 5 houses
Strassenhütte with 2 houses and 5 residents
Plöß in total: 124 houses and 1167 inhabitants
At that time Plöß was a popular excursion destination with three restaurants, a bakery, a butcher and a blacksmith.[6] After the Munich Agreement, Plöß was added to the German Reich and belonged to the district of Bischofteinitz until 1945.
Pleš in the post-war years
As part of the Beneš decrees, all German residents were expelled from 1945. Most of the houses fell into disrepair and are no longer visible today. After the opening of the border in 1989, the destroyed cemetery and the foundations of the cemetery church "John the Baptist" were restored and a memorial was erected in Friedrichshang within sight of the border. In addition, on June 25, 2016, a chapel was inaugurated in place of the destroyed parish church "Maria Hilfe der Christen". The old Rössler Villa No. 73 is the only building that has been preserved and was initially used as a forester's house and is associated with the smuggler Josef Zíka, who was a forester in Plöß.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the house was converted into an inn with a boarding house.
Church history of Plöß
The residents of Plöß were mostly Catholics. Before 1654, the faithful of Plöß were cared for by Heiligenkreuz and then by Eisendorf. In 1668 a church was built on a hill dedicated to John the Baptist. In 1787 Plöß became a local of Eisendorf and in 1851 it became an independent parish. Due to increasing damage to the old parish church, it had to be closed. It was renovated and reopened as a cemetery church in 1882 when a new cemetery was dedicated. In 1798 a chapel was built in the center of the village, which was renovated in 1870. In its place, a church dedicated to "Mary Help of Christians" was built, which was inaugurated in 1906.
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