How Krumlov found its good fortune

While talking with some locals today, I heard such an absurd story that I just have to share it, even though I don’t know how true it is. You can believe it or not. Český Krumlov, one of a few places in the Czech Republic to be on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and thus a town that attracts flocks of tourists, became an important historical landmark thanks to the exceptionally well-preserved historical center and adjoining castle and chateau. The vast majority of historic city centers (not just in the Czech Republic) have been irreversibly altered and have definitively lost their historical character. But not Český Krumlov, and especially the inner town and Latrán, which (fortunately) avoided any more extensive modern construction work and thus preserved its medieval character. According to local legend, a big role was played in this by the gypsies who came here after the Second World War to replace the expelled German population and who were quite numerous here until the 1990s. According to this story, the gypsies had a unique attitude towards the houses they inhabited: Unlike other users, they did not engage in extensive renovation but for the most part simply left the buildings as they were. And this approach, the story goes, is why the town remained in the state in which it was, and its subsequent inclusion on the UNESCO list made it world famous and – for many locals – a gold mine. A now the $64,000 question: Can you guess which ethnic group had to – more or less involuntarily – leave this place during privatization in order to make way for shops selling amber, gold, and precious stones?