Page 116 - UNESCO_Zatec_2021_A4

Chamber hop drying kiln with an evaporator on the roof, house No. 30, usually placed at three levels, and also a mechanism
Dvořákova St., Žatec, 2016
enabling to extract hops mechanically was developed.
This was they created an ideal system that reduced the
length of the drying process from several days (between
four and ten, depending on external climatic conditions)
to only a few hours. Using this innovative solution, the
new drying buildings, hops drying kiln buildings (in
form quite different of "oasthouses" as we know them
e.g. from the English Kent, significantly saved not only
time but also expensive and demanding human effort.
These specific Linhart or Vltavský patented hop drying
kilns/drying buildings totally dominated the market
during the thirty years of the 20 century. Thanks to their
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extraordinary efficiency, they were also exported to other
hop growing areas in Europe (especially Bavaria).

The drying boom was extraordinary during the first
decades – whereas, during the 1870s, the total number
of hop kilns could be observed by individual units; by the
1920s, there were almost 5,500 such facilities in the Saaz
hop growing region. Practically every village farm had its
2. Description structures within the same farming entity. Seasonal
own hop kiln, and large estates could have two specific

demand for drying facilities from hop growers and general
prosperity from hops became a significant determinant
of the image of villages. Hop kilns were also built in
the villages by members of the lower social strata, who
themselves owned relatively small hop fields. Because of
the difference in the purchase price for well-dried hops,
116 it was even worth their while to build their own hop kiln
because, in the high-hop harvest season, they could offer
a capacity of their hop kiln for rent to other growers.

At the turn of the 19 century, the hop growing villages
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in the Žatec region experienced a period of exceptional
building development. This was not only expressed
through the construction of dozens of hop drying
facilities over a relatively short period of time, but also
the modernisation and modification of farms through
which the hop growers demonstrated their wealth to the
outside world. The massive construction boom of this
period was not only dependent on a sufficient supply
of bricklayers, carpenters, and roofers but also enough
building materials. Another feature of these villages,
prospering from the production and processing of hops,
was the newly established lime works and brickyards
from that time. The unusual building expansion and
architectural beauty of these villages was also a subject
of great surprise for many local and foreign visitors to
the region. It was also reflected in the newspapers of
that time. The village of Stekník perfectly represents the
grandeur of village development of this period.

Technological development in subsequent processing
(storage, sulphurisation, and packaging of hops)
The increase in beer consumption, as well as changes in
the technology of its production in the mid-19 century,
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influenced the usage of hops and their production. As
Rural hop drying kiln with an evaporator on the roof, attached to the barn, a result of this increase, new warehouses and hop packing
Saaz hop growing region, early 20 century
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