The village is situated in the north east of the town Lanškroun. It is located in the valley of the river Moravská Sázava and forms a “gate“ into the natural site "Sázava valley" which is very popular with tourists. The number of residents in the village is 498. The king Václav II confirmed by a deed dated 1304 the donation of the town Lanškroun and 24 villages to Zbraslav monastery. The list of villages included the village Albrechtice. Among historical monuments is the St. Anne’s Church that was built by inhabitants of the village Albrechtice between 1862 and 1864. The church was renovated several times; the last large reconstruction was carried out in 1997. The recent history can be divided into following periods: the period after 1945, the period between 1976 and 1990 (then the community was part of the town Lanškroun) and the period since 1st January 1991, when the referendum took place and the community became independent. This resulted in repairs of municipality properties, maintenance of greenery and increased interest of inhabitants about the community life. The first mayor of the independent village was Alois Hrabáček (until 2002), now it is Ing. Jaroslav Novák. There is association of firemen, association of huntsmen and gymnastics club in the village that organise cultural and social events in the village (besides their own activities).
Detailed information (adapted from the source "Vlastivěda Lanškrounska"): The village Albrechtice is located in the valley of the upper part of the river Moravská Sázava, 3 km to the north east of the town Lanškroun. The first written reference to the village Albrechtice (Albrechtsdorf) dates back to 1304 – in donation deed of the king Václav II in favour of the Zbraslav monastery. The name of the village corresponds to colonisation usages – it is derived from the name of the village locator. The village was founded during the Middle Age colonisation of this territory. Hence, the name Albrechtsdorf means the village of Albrecht people. Later, the German name was misspelled as Olbersdorf and this name was used until 1945. The proximity of the village to the town Lanškroun has influenced the fate of the village Albrechtice since the very beginning. What’s more, between 1976 and 1991 the village Abrechtice and the town Lanškroun were administratively integrated. An important trace in the history of the village left the river Moravská Sázava that powered many facilities. In 1371 the Litomyšl bishop Petr Jelito founded a monastery of Order of St. Augustine order in Lanškroun and donated to the monastery a mill on the river Moravská Sázava situated near the village Albrechtice. In 1508 the owner of the town and the manor – Vojtěch z Pernštejna – issued a deed in favour to the reeve of Albrechtice – Lytman – that the river powered a hammer mill (a smithery with a mechanical hammer. However, at the beginning of 16th century it did not exist anymore and the smithery was evoked only by the name of the meadow "Na hamerně" (i.e. On the hammer mill). In addition to that, the so called Lytman’s Handfest (Handfest means in German a deed with the own signature of issuer) refers to a fullery that was used by drapers from the town Lanškroun to produce wool drapery. The reeve had to, among other duties, maintain and repair a trough carrying water to fullery, and for this purpose he was allowed to use wood that belonged to manor. To the reeve’s house that was bought by Lytman from Vojtěch z Pernštejna belonged besides grounds and already mentioned meadow also a pond above the fullery, a fish halt and a taproom. The reeve had to pay twice a year an agreed sum for the taproom. The fullery in Albrechtice is also mentioned in Convention of drapers of the town Lanškroun issued in 1588. The last such facility was working here since 1837 until early 20th century. The Lanškroun domain belonged successively to property of house Kostkové z Postupim and house Pernštejn. In 1588, one of the richest men in the country Adam Hrzán z Harasova became the owner of the domain. On 5th December 1622, the Lanškroun domain was bought by the Czech vice regent Karel z Liechtensteinu. The domain (and the village Albrechtice) belonged to his house until 1850. Between 1848 and 1850, there were important changes in the village Albrechtice – all obligations owed to manor and later other obligations owed to the Lanškroun domain owners were abolished. The first mayor was Vinzenz Maixner (until 1861). Since 1850 the village Albrechtice was part of judicial and political district of Lanškroun. The first reference to the local school dates back to 1788 – the school was in house no. 3. In 1792, a new wooden school building was constructed and it was used until 1871 which was replaced by a new building five years later. Until 1998 the pupils of 3rd and 4th grade who were commuting from the town Lanškroun were taught here. Then, the school was closed and renovated and now it is a cultural centre with a large assembly room and other rooms designed for various events. There is also one flat. In a village there is also a nice nursery school that has been recently renovated. The church in the village Albrechtice was built in 1860’s. The “motor” of the construction became Wenzel Knapek, engineer who was born in the house no. 59. He drew the construction plans, but also raised money and himself financially contributed to the construction. The foundation-stone of the St. Anne’s Church that was built on the place of old wooden campanile was laid down in 1861. The church was solemnly consecrated in 1865 in presence of many believers both from the village and the town Lanškroun. Although it is a sacred building, it is not used for this purpose anymore. The church belongs to village and the church is used for cultural and social meetings. The building was largely renovated. The cemetery was founded by the municipality in 1893. Another monument is Schöberle’s chapel on a hill bearing the same name situated above the village Albrechtice near the road heading to Štíty. This chapel is formed by a Baroque pillar with Pieta sculpture from 1704. A former officer of the manor (Jan Jiří Antonín Bartošek) had this pillar built. The socle bears an inscription in three languages – Latin, Czech and German – announcing who and when had this chapel built and the officer’s coat of arms (a golden griffin having a sword in its right hand). The social life of the village in the first half of the 20th century was organised by local civic associations, such as Brigade of voluntary firemen (Freiwillige Feuerwehrverein). The association was founded in 1886. In 1905 was founded agricultural association (Landwirtschaftliches Casino) and German gymnastics club (DKV) and others. At turn of years 1918 and 1919 the owner of hereditary Albrechtice reeve office and former member of Vienna Reichrat Wilhelm Maixner took an active role in activities of associations and formation of state entity called Deutschösterreich. Since 1st October 1938 the village belonged (as a result of Munich Agreement) to Nazi Germany and more precisely to a newly formed Reichregion Sudetenland, Wilhelm Maixner was forced to leave his office. After World War II, the history of village Albrechtice was marked (as in many municipalities in Lanškroun region) by drastic events of expulsion of Germans and repopulation of the village from up-country. Between 1945 and 1946, the continuity that lasted almost six and half centuries was brutally breached. After the expulsion of German population from the Czech territory, the entire region suffered from lack of working force, however the existence of the village was secured by the continuous repopulation. The character of the village is still agricultural and surrounding woods enabled existence of woodworking industry. Currently, several village associations, the re-established Brigade of voluntary firemen, Association of huntsmen Rychtářský les Albrechtice (Reeve’s wood Albrechtice), Gymnastic club and Movement for exercises in the village – Snail, organise social events for almost five hundred residents.
German name: Olbersdorf
