The person credited with inventing paper is Ts'ai Lun (AD 50-121), an official at the Chinese Imperial Court at the Han Dynasty in China. He made his paper by mixing finely chopped mulberry bark and hemp rags with water, mashing it flat, and then pressing out the water and letting it dry in the sun.
The art of papermaking soon spread across the empire as well as the neighbouring regions. It reached Korea as early as in 384 AD. Traditional handmade paper became an indispensable material of daily life in Korea. It was used not only for writing, but also as a material for graphics and printing. Korea is also the country from where the oldest printed document an incunabula from the beginning of the 15th century. They first introduced a method of dying paper by gluing, paper envelopes and they. Overall, Koreans considerably contributed to the development of papermaking and handmade paper production.
In the course of their eastern expansion, the Arabs uncovered the secret of papermaking from Chinese prisoners which led to the first paper mill in the Islamic world to be founded in Samarkand. The invention then spread to the Arab world and through Africa to Europe.
The first written record in connection with the production of paper in Bohemia originates from the era of King Vladislav II and is dated between 1498 and 1502. Issued in Buda on May 24, 1499, it is an abstract of the draft copy of a deed according to which the king permits to the miller of an abbot of Cistercian cloister in Zbraslav called Jan to produce paper.
During 16th century papermaking in Bohemia expanded rapidly. Several paper mills were established during that period, such as the ones in Trutnov (1505), Frydlant (before 1516), Old Town in Prague (according to water gauge from1524), and two in Liben (around 1530). Some records also mention paper mills from around 1540 in Stara Hora and Cheb. Paper mill in Dusniky in Kladsko (todays Poland) was most likely established around the same period as well. Those paper mills in Nedosin u Litomysle, Usti nad Labem (1559) were all found around the 2nd half of the 16th century. Other documented paper mills were/are located in Benesov nad Ploucnici and Mimon (1590), Cesky Krumlov (before 1572) and Klatovy (before 1583). During Paper mills in Jirkov, Kuncice u Vrchlabi, Chomutov, Jachymov and Velke Losiny (1596) existed or were established during the last decade of the 16th century.
Today the paper manufacture in Velke Losiny belongs among the oldest still functioning handmade papers mills in Europe. Traditional technique that is based on a use of natural cotton and linen fibres has been used here until now. Products by paper mill in Velke Losiny are widely appreciated for its highest quality level. Its production line includes variety of graphic and aquarelle papers that are used by well-known artists, large business companies and state institutions for representative purposes. Other exclusive handmade products are used for printing of graphic sheets and bibliophile editions.
The present premises of this significant technical monument where the production of handmade paper has been going on for more than 400 years are the unique phenomena in Central Europe and they were included in 2002 in the list of national cultural monuments protected by the state.
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