In the years 1530 – 1550 new settlers began to arive. No longer only wood was floated on the Elbe River, but also grain, glass and salt was stored in Hřensko storages. At that time Salhausens were the owners. After their bankruptcy in 1612, creditor Johann of Wartemberg became the owner of Hřensko, followed by the families Wchinitz and Aldrings, and since the year 1664 the Clary-Aldringens.

After the death of general John of Aldringen in the Thirty Years’ War, the possessions were divided between the heirs. And so it happened that inhabitants of Hřensko and Mezná were governed by four authorities. Only during the reign of Francis Karl in the year 1709 were all parts merged together, thus forming the Binnsdorf masterdom.

In the 17th century the importance of Hřensko as a trading centre had risen. Timber working remained the vital industry. In the 18th century there stood four saw mills in Hřensko, one of them had been then transformed into a hospital during a cholera epidemic. Several raft tying workshops were in service, timber was floated to more distant places. Great speciality were huge, hundreds of years old trunks, which were delivered to naval shipyards and used for manufacturing the masts of sailboats. Timber was also used for homemade shingles, dishes, tools, hop poles and other goods. In charcoal pits in the woods, charcoal and grease was made. Also mushrooms were traded.

Because of grain trade, mills have been developing. In Hřensko there were three of them, the younger one had been converted to the U mlýna Hotel (Zu Mühle) after a fire. Today the Klepáč Hotel.

Mining and processing of sandstone was another important industry. It was being exported far to Dresden.

For local people clandestine trade was also a source of income (the Podloudnice Trail is known already in the year 1492). Salt, tabacco, cloth and other goods were smuggled here. However, after the Thirty Years’ War the border was better guarded. In the year 1656 there is documented a station that was in charge of control of the salt trade, and in the 30’s of the 18th century a tollbooth.

The introduction of steam navigation had a big significance, the very first steamboat sailed through Hřensko on the 15th of June 1838. General develpment of the 19th century had no significant influence on Hřensko. The only industrial company was a chemical plant producing sheep wool and silk dyes. Soon the property had been converted into a branch of a Dresden company producing threads used in sewing machines (in service until the year 1945).

In the 19th century tourism in Hřensko begins to evolve, supported by the masterdom’s owner duke Edmund Clary-Aldringen. In the 30’s of the 19th century, the path to Pravčická brána was built, also hotels, pensions and taverns were being built. In the year 1862, Gustav Kreibich founded a local company, which among other things sold photographs and picture postcards of Hřensko.

In the year 1890, the gorges are finished and opened. In the year 1879, sections of the Czech Switzerland Mountain Club are forming in Hřensko and Vysoká Lípa. Its members built trails, roads, observation points, handrails, benches, bridges, they also published promotional and educational prints, and organized various meetings.