Page 101 - UNESCO_Zatec_2021_A4

The territory of Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops on Müller’s map of Bohemia from 1720; only vineyards are marked

The Thirty Years’ War was reflected not only in the roads led along the same route as in later periods. The
landscape but also in the ownership of the fortress second road, from Prague to Nové Strašecí and Řevničov,
in Stekník, a knightly family of the Kaplíř family from was roughly the same as later. Still, between Řevničov
Sulevice. According to other written registers after the and Kadaň, it diverted through Mutějovice, Kounov,
Thirty Years’ War, the village of Stekník was registered as Siřem, Liběšovice, between Sýrovice and Pšov, Kaštice, 101
devastated, only seven inhabited farmsteads and three Mory and Pětipsy. This route was later almost wholly
desolate ones were recorded. abandoned (not even used as side roads). Very rarely,
alleys or geometric landscape compositions are drawn.
In 1681, however, the local chateau was bought by the
burgher family of Jan Jiří Kulhánek, who already owned Müller’s map of Bohemia schematically shows several
a hop field in Žatec at the beginning of the 17 century. vineyards in the circle around Žatec (nowhere on the
th
They also expanded their business to hop fields in the broader area is anything similar drawn). They cover
vicinity of Stekník, which were known for their quality. practically the entire area between Záhoří, Velichov, the
The profitability of this business is also evidenced by the Hutná u Staňkovic valley, Bezděkov, Perč, Radíčeves,
costly reconstruction of the chateau (For more, see the Čeradice and Libočany. The legend of this map applied
section on the Stekník Chateau). uniformly for the entire territory of the mapped countries
depicts only the map symbol for the vineyard, so it
Like other territories of Central Europe, Žatec and its cannot be completely ruled out that it could also be used
surroundings were looted several times during the Thirty to represent hop fields. On the other hand, it should be
Years’ War by foreign troops of both warring parties. The noted that the vineyard symbol indicates areas where
armies of Saxons and Swedes repeatedly passed through hop fields have never been found and where conditions
Žatec By 1654, out of the total number of 232 houses in are not suitable for them, for example, in elevated
the city centre, 79 are abandoned, nine demolished, and positions south of the town. As for the vineyards, it would
th
42 burned down. There were 109 houses in the suburbs, mean that at that time (in the first quarter of the 18
of which 25 were deserted and 15 burned. century), the vineyards around the town still dominated.
However, this is in conflict with the fact that the Berní rula
Müller’s map of Bohemia from 1720, created by recorded only 33 winemakers with 8 ha of vineyards here
cartographer Jan Kryštof Müller , is the oldest map work, in 1654. In the Ohře floodplain, not even near Stekník, but
which fully depicts all towns and villages, but also manor nowhere else in the vicinity of Žatec, there is no symbol of
farmsteads, castles, sacral buildings, inns, and other vineyards.
buildings in the open countryside. Müller’s map shows
that the country road did not lead through Žatec at this The professor of the University of Nuremberg, writer
time, and the town lay between two road tractions. and historian Johann Heumann, published information
The Prague – Louny – Postoloprty – Chomutov – Saxony about Saaz hops in 1759 as follows: "This is the unanimity