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"Bratři Holý" (Gebrüder Holly, The Holý Brothers), which In Žatec, the Buštěhrad track and the other important
was owned by Amalie Holá after their death. From 1896, track Plzeň – Most crossed, the latter started operating
František Kellner (1876–1933) worked in the company two years later. In connection with it, a railway station
of "Bratři Holý" in various positions, working his way up building in Trnovany was built in 1878. Based on the
to be a chief clerk. He became an important Saaz hop requirement for a railway connection from sugar and
merchant and founder of a business dynasty. hop producers in the Žatec and Louny regions and the
development of brown coal mining in Podkrušnohoří
In 1860, "Žatecký chmelný trh", the Žatec hop market, (a large area near the ridge of the Ore Mountains,
was established, which was active in the town up to 1879. northwest of Žatec), the Buštěhrad Railway track (in
It took place every Thursday, from October to December, 1867 a functional system between Prague and Lány)
whilst during October, which is in the main hop processing was extended to the whole area. The railway meant
season after the harvest, it took place virtually every day. a break in the existing method of the trade in hops,
as this helped to reduce costs of transportation to an
In 1861, the Hop Growing Association bought the originally eighth of what they previously were. The new means
leased old malt house in Jakubská Street (today Tyršova of transport also significantly sped up exportation and
Street in the component part 02) and renovated it for use provided protection against climatic influences on the
as a marketplace. By dividing the hops into the municipal, hops being transported.
district, and regional, the Public Hop Certification Centre
was established, which sorted and assessed hops not During this time the first specialised shipping companies
according to quality, but according to the relation of were also established. The largest shipping company was
the grower to the place where they owned land. Other the Eduard Fanta company which had special railway
hops, which also passed through the Žatec Public Hop wagons for the transportation of hops.
Certification Centre, only received a certification of origin
but did not obtain the Žatec market stamp. The widening of market territories and higher demands
for the quality of hops also brought changes in the
An unjustifiable price preference for the "municipal," but packaging methods. The original linen cloth was replaced
in part also for the "district" hops, soon led to conflicts by jute in the production of the bales (sacks).
between the growers. Unhealthy relations formed
between individual groups of growers, and this, in its final In the 1880s, metallic cylinders were used for a better
consequence, harmed Žatec hop growing as a whole. and longer storage life. These were cylindrical containers 123
This wrong decision by the Hop Growing Association of made from galvanised metal with removable covers. Ship
Žatec was possibly advantageous in the long term only transport required storage of packed hops into tin-lined
to a small circle of growers and the town but laid the boxes. The main journey overseas led through Hamburg,
foundations for lengthy disputes that were not to be dealt and to a lesser degree, through Terst.
with for more than half a century, limiting the possibilities
of Žatec and thereby, Bohemian hop growing in general.

By the end of the 19 century, the hop trade in Bohemia
th
was in the hands of the German capital. A limited
partnership company, which was established in 1861
as the first Bohemian hop growing trade association,
became the foundation of the "První česká akciová
společnost v Rakovníku a v Žatci," the First Bohemian
Joint-stock Company in Rakovník and in Žatec, in 1898.

Along with the change in the market, other significant
changes were closely related to the trade.

Railways as an impulse for changes in the hop trade
The railway connection with the city of Pilsen was
particularly important, as already in 1842, a successful
boom in the brewing of Pilsner type beer began, using
Saaz hops.

In the 1870s, the operation of the Prague – Chomutov
railway started, and the railway section on the track Plzeň
– Duchcov was opened. In 1871, operation of the railway
commenced on the section Lány – Chomutov, where
Žatec is located, thus gaining a connection to Prague. Hop warehouse and packaging room by Kaspar Danzer, built next
to the Prague – Chomutov railway line, photo by J.Wara, Žatec, 1925