Page 93 - UNESCO_Zatec_2021_A4

The wooden fillings of the openings (windows, doors, The former Christl Brother’s hop warehouse and baling room, No. 1950,
blinds, and entrance gates) were designed with regard in Prokopa Velkého Square, Žatec, 2016
to the functionality and operation of the building,
and their division fully corresponded with its overall
architectural concept. Examples of such a solution are,
e.g. a hop packaging room and hop warehouse, No. 1232
in Kovářská Street (investor Vinzenz Zuleger from 1913),
or a warehouse building without a descriptive number on
the building plot No. 1017/3, next to the corner building
No. 837 in Komenského Alley (investor Johann Simon
from 1891).

Hop packaging rooms and hop warehouses in the
densely built-up area of the Prague Suburbs were
logically placed in easily accessible places for transport.
The warehouses required a consistent and that time
a natural exchange of air. Ventilators later supplemented
natural gravitational ventilation. In order to maintain
a constant, low temperature in the interior of the hop
growing buildings, the storage rooms were oriented to
the north side of the building, if construction conditions
allowed. The described orientation towards the
north side can be observed in several preserved hop
constructions. This is especially evident, for example,
at the warehouse and packing house in Kovářská Street
(No. 753, Gustav Epstein, Adolf Mendl from 1913) or at
the building on Prokopa Velkého Square (No. 1950,
Christl brothers from 1920).

The perimeter of the hop packing spaces was usually 93
made of mixed masonry. The most commonly used was the entire chamber. Then the double steel doors closed,
marl or local stone. These were stones from the original and pieces of sulphur or a sulphur flower were set on fire
medieval buildings, which were gradually replaced by on the ground floor in a special fireplaces. After approx.
newly built hop growing buildings. The inner skeletons, 5–6 hours of the sulphurisation process, the chimney
which divided the storage space of the building into flaps opened and, if necessary, the fans started. The
several floors, were wooden with a load-bearing capacity chimneys of individual warehouses and packing plants
suitable for the use at the time. released sulphur dioxide into the air. Precisely due to
the sulphuring of hops and the discharge of sulphurous
Dried hops burn easily, and hop warehouses were built fumes into the air, the Saaz warehouses and hop packing
with a wooden inner skeleton (see above), so they had houses were equipped with brick chimneys up to 45
to comply with fire regulations from the beginning. This m high. After sulphuring, the hops were removed from
was also reflected in their appearance. Each building is the chambers with special shovels and stored in export
fire-separated and has its own wooden staircase, often bales. Sulphur chambers are preserved in almost all
supplemented by an external metal fire escape staircase. buildings where hops were originally conserved this way,
for example, in the Prokopa Velkého Square (No. 1950,
To preserve its quality to the maximum during long Christl brothers from 1920 or Nos. 305 and 1952, Pfister &
transport to the customer, the hops underwent Würstl from 1873).
sulphurisation – a specific technological conservation
process which, thanks to its secondary construction The transport of hop bales in a vertical direction is
manifestations in the form of tall chimneys located evidenced in preserved warehouses and packaging
above the sulphur chambers, also affected the image of rooms by hand-held wooden rope lifts with a winch, as
the town of Žatec. Therefore, buildings containing these an example is a lift in the building (Nos. 305 and 1952,
th
sulphuring chambers, in which hops have been preserved Pfister & Würstl from 1873). At the beginning of the 20
due to the application of sulphur dioxide, are an essential century, these winches were replaced by electric freight
part of the nominated property. This process reduced the cabin elevators, which were gradually installed in all the
development of microorganisms and improved the gloss warehouses. They have been preserved in most cases
and color of the hop cones. The sulphur chambers had of the described buildings in the area considered for
iron mesh floors on several levels. Hops were poured into nomination and also confirm the technical value of the
the chambers from above until a conical pile of hops filled preserved site.