This is the site of the post-war boundary realignment - from footers 778 to 789. Part of the building complex was originally on the line. Apparently there was some agreement between the Czechoslovakia (now Czechia and Slowakia) and the DDR (now part of Germany) that the mill would be displaced.
One of the very few parts remained of to the vanished part of Krasny Les (before 1948 known as Schönwald) which once existed along the road III/2488 and Rybny stream towards the border with Germany. Nowadays, there are only few remaining buildings, for example the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Schönwald was founded in the 13th century by German colonists. The first written reference about the village dates back to 1382. It was possessed by various owners during its rich history. Schönwald became an agricultural center after the Battle of White Mountain and the Thirty Year’s War. Intense agriculture flourished in this mountainous region despite the altitude and climate. Nowadays you probably would not guess that 3,035 people used to live in 1869, since the 2011 census states that there is currently only 120 residents. A fort, a brewery and a school were built in the 16th century. Schönwald was affected by the Thirty Year’s War and there was also a Peasants' Revolt in 1680. Count Frantisek Ignac Vratislav from Mitrovice built here a baroque castle in 1704 (nowadays it is a ruin). The late baroque Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary was built in 1790-1795.
The Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul was built in 1812 next to the Rybny stream and the road leading to the German border. It is a rectangular building with a simple semicircular apse, triangular gable with niche, and polygonal bell-tower. Another chapel was built close to the customs house in Gothic revival style in 1912.
Schönwald and the entire border region of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland became part of Nazi Germany as a result of the Munich Agreement. The village was part of Reichsgau Sudetenland (an administrative division of Nazi Germany) since April 1939 till the end of the WW2. The local castle was used as an internment camp for French POW (1940-1941) and for the Jews from Usti nad Labem (1941-1945).
Schönwald was almost entirely German village during the First Czechoslovak Republic (95.4% residents claimed German nationality in the 1921 census). Germans were deported from the Czechoslovakia after the WW2, which caused massive depopulation of the entire region. The number of residents dropped by 92% between the 1930 and 1950 census. The village was renamed in 1948, when it got its current Czech name. The built-up area remained the same few years after the war. There were half-timbered houses along the Rybny stream (Gottleuba in Germany) towards the border between Czechoslovakia and East Germany. The north-western part of the village that was within the border zone was demolished in 1950 in order to destroy all hiding places that could be potentially used by people escaping Czechoslovakia.
Schönwald’s population decline had started long before the WW2, mainly due to coal mining and industrial development in the north Bohemian region that provided more work opportunities. There were 2,207 residents in 1900, 2,200 in 1910, 1,973 in 1921 and 1,805 in 1930. Despite this trend, there were rather extraordinary public and community facilities. There were twelve inns, three butchers, three bakers, a general store, a textile shop, four dance halls, a poorhouse, a library, a cinema, a community center, a post-office, etc. Local economy was mainly agriculture-based. Arable land area represented 60% of the land-use in 1845. Since 1950s (at that time there was 140 residents), farming was done by the local state farm. The main agricultural crop was flax, but rye, barley and potatoes were grown here as well. The land-use has changed after 1989. Arable land area represented 40.8% of the land-use in 1995, whereas it represents only 13.8% of land-use at the beginning of the 21st century. Many fields were turned into pastures and meadows which represents up to 43% of the land-use.
Krasny Les has been part of the Petrovice municipality since 1980. Local sights have been gradually restored and renovated - mainly by the local NGO called SOVA. They restored e.g. the Chapel of Virgin Mary near the church (2010) or the General Kleist monument in Naklerov (2013). The most recently restored sight is the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul. The SOVA plans to restore the Gothic revival style chapel which is close to the German border as well.
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