Demographic Zenith and Settlement in the 19th Century
Records of population numbers and settlement structure preserved in parish registers and census records provide an exact quantitative picture of the vitality of this submontane settlement. Despite harsh climatic conditions and isolation, the population of Babiny I grew over a long period. Ethnically, it was an almost homogeneous community of inhabitants of German nationality, which was typical for Sudeten regions at this altitude (Pištěk, 2006; Severní Polabí, undated).
The development of settlement from the beginning of the 19th century can best be illustrated through data snapshots that map the path from growth to complete collapse. The following table demonstrates structural and demographic changes over time:
| Year | Population | Number of buildings | Contextual development and sources
| 1830 | 125 | 22 | Period of the early Industrial Revolution. The village retains a traditional rural character, with a strong focus on livestock breeding (Severní Polabí, undated; Pištěk, 2006).
| 1836–1852 | 50 men | 44 (cottages) | Data from the Franciscan (2nd) military mapping. Also recorded: 4 barns and 6 horses. The population figure refers only to men capable of service (Severní Polabí, undated).
| 1869 | 170 | - | Absolute demographic peak of the settlement. From this point onward, stagnation and gradual decline began (Severní Polabí, undated; Pištěk, 2006).
| 1921 | 150 | 29 | Slight population decline after World War I due to migration to cities for work, but stable housing structure (Pištěk, 2006).
| 1930 | 144 | 30 | Deepening economic crisis and escalation of ethnic tensions in the Sudetenland, continued gradual population decline (Severní Polabí, undated).
| 1939 | 122 | - | Consequence of political instability, incorporation into Nazi Germany after the Munich Agreement, mobilisation of inhabitants (Severní Polabí, undated).
| 1950 (1951) | 6 | 1 | Collapse of the settlement after the post-war expulsion of the German population and the complete failure of attempts at effective Czech resettlement (Severní Polabí, undated; Pištěk, 2006).
The population peak in 1869 (170 inhabitants) fully corresponds to the general demographic pressure in the Czech and Moravian countryside prior to the massive onset of industrialisation (Severní Polabí, undated). The subsequent population decline between 1869 and 1930 was not caused by catastrophes but by natural socio-economic migration. Industrial centres in the foothills of the Ore Mountains and in the Elbe valley, with developing coal mines and chemical plants (such as nearby Ústí nad Labem and Lovosice), offered incomparably easier and more reliable livelihoods than hard work on stony fields at an altitude of 550 metres.
From an urbanistic perspective, the layout of Babiny I can be precisely reconstructed thanks to indicative sketches and imperial obligatory prints of the stable cadastre from 1843 (Severní Polabí, undated; ČÚZK, 1843). The stable cadastre recorded the landscape in unprecedented detail, including colour coding of buildings. In Babiny, the prevailing colour was yellow, indicating buildings made of combustible materials—log, half-timbered, or timber-framed mountain cottages. Dark grey indicated extensive forests surrounding the village, while pink—traditionally used for vineyards or more valuable orchards—indicated areas of more intensive cultivation in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings (ČÚZK, 1843).
The dominant centre of social and commercial life in the 20th century was the famous Zimmler Inn (Zimmlergasthaus), which also housed a local butcher’s shop (Severní Polabí, undated; Zaniklé obce, 2006). Contemporary sources, including photographs from 1925 and 1935, depict it as a spacious and representative building that became a hub not only for the local community but also for early pioneers of tourism in the Central Bohemian Uplands, forestry workers, and traders crossing the mountain ridges (Severní Polabí, undated; Zaniklé obce, 2006; Špaček, 2008). Children from the settlement, however, had to walk daily to nearby Čeřeniště for basic education, which, especially in winter months, posed an extreme physical burden but also strengthened social and family ties between the two settlements (Severní Polabí, undated; Pištěk, 2006).