Page 81 - UNESCO_Zatec_2021_A4

agriculture led to the consolidation of production areas and warehousing facilities provided to them in the town of
and a new organisation of work practices. Hop fields were Žatec. Subsequent processing of dried hops in the urban
no longer consistently tied to individual farmsteads; hops environment, therefore, affected the appearance and
were no longer dried in historic small scale drying kilns but structure of the town due to the formation of its districts
new large-capacity hop drying kilns built on the outskirts and buildings, which were associated with consecutive hop
of the village. At the same time, hops were no longer processing processes (drying, sulphurisation, packaging,
stored in barns and roof spaces, but after drying, the hops certification, trade, and transportation). However, in the
were transported to warehouses in Žatec. The result of spirit of the period’s requirements, these utilitarian hop-
the new situation was, among other things, a significant related constructions had to be incorporated into the
simplification of the network of service roads, the creation town and its structure, so as not to damage it visually. This
of new roads leading to new processing complexes was reflected mainly in the form of their street facades,
on the outskirts of villages, and a strengthening of the which in most cases, imitate residential buildings with
importance of backbone roads between Žatec and the rural their architectural design. All this together gives the town
municipalities. This development is also ideally illustrated a peculiar and unique atmosphere.
by the nominated property.
The urban and rural environment of the urban centre and
SUMMARY OF THE LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS village within the nominated property are thus entirely
The nominated property Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz different, as is their traditional building culture. Nevertheless,
Hops is a unique spatial structure. The gradual changes in both rural and urban hop related structures show some
the way hops have been managed and the technological common and specific features. Their roof landscape is
advances in the subsequent processing of the crop, which especially typical, in which roofs with low gables and large
have taken place over several centuries are reflected in the handling openings for the transport of hops to the lofts and
form of the landscape. Tangible and intangible attributes roofs with rows of ventilation dormers of specific shape
represent its values. The material characteristics of the have been preserved. All-wooden internal constructions
landscape are defined by its relief: the river connecting of the buildings also facilitate the hop processing, during
the two component parts, the panorama of the villages which it was essential to ensure the vertical movement
and the town of Žatec and the character of the buildings of hop processing from the roof space to the ground floor
that are associated with hop processing. Rural and urban for its speedy processing and rationalisation. The crop,
elements form different parts of the whole picture of the as such, is also specific, not only because of its impact on
hop growing landscape, from hop plants in fields with wire land use and the need for structural support for hop bines. 81
trellises to built heritage and its features related to hop As one of the fastest-growing cultivated plants, hops have
drying technology, such as wooden floors of warehouses, a fundamental effect on the landscape’s appearance, in
whole hop drying roof spaces, specific roof dormers, rural a very extraordinary, dynamic way that distinguishes it
hop drying kilns and hop warehouses in the town. from the vast majority of other agricultural landscapes. In
the main growing season, the appearance of the landscape
The intangible aspects of the nominated landscape are the changes practically during individual hours, so the visual
favourable natural conditions for growing hops, several dynamics of the hop landscape is not comparable to any
hundred years of continuity of cultivation, the amount other agricultural landscape.
of specific knowledge and skills passed down through
generations between growers and breeders, and human The characteristics of hops have also fundamentally
interactions on the environment that have influenced affected the construction and external appearance of the
the unmistakable image of the landscape. The individual buildings in which they were and are being processed
component parts of the landscapes are inseparable, and because they are light, but their storage requires a large
one without the other would not work. area. It has also always been essential to provide adequate
ventilation for drying and a good possibility of shading the
Hop fields were established in places with suitable area where the hops were stored so that they do not lose
conditions. The composition of the soil, the level of the colour. Awareness of the quality of Saaz hops, the specifics
groundwater, the exposure of the area to sunlight, the of their cultivation and processing, and the celebration
proximity of the watercourse, and the natural barrier of their harvest are part of the cultural traditions of the
preventing the flow of northwestern winds are particularly inhabitants of the whole Czech Republic. The eventual
important. The existence of village farms, their proximity to success of the nomination will undoubtedly be shared
hop fields, connections to local roads and locations within by all groups of the population, because there is general
farmsteads, their size, construction, building materials pride in the quality Czech hops and belonging to the town
used, and the appearance of their roofs, all this is based on of Žatec, and good general knowledge about the hop
the need for quality and, above all, fast processing of this cultivation in the hop fields.
crop as long exposure to air may degrade it. The structure of
trade, in which big traders played an important role, able, Let’s get acquainted in greater detail with the places
unlike rural producers, to transport hops practically all over where the hops are at home, in Žatec and the Landscape
the world would not be possible without the administrative of Saaz Hops.