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B.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY
The detailed description of the property, together with its history, is contained in the Chapter 2 of the main part of the
B. ANALYTICAL SECTION OF THE MANAGEMENT PLAN
Nomination Dossier. From the reason of context and understanding of the priorities formulated in the Management
Plan, the main descriptive information representing both components is provided in this chapter.

B.2.1 CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PROPERTY

The nominated property Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops is a unique spatial structure. The gradual changes
in the way hops have been managed and the technological advances in the subsequent processing of the crop, which
have taken place over several centuries are reflected in the form of the landscape.

The urban and rural environment of the urban centre and village within the nominated property Žatec and the Landscape
of Saaz Hops are thus entirely different, as is their traditional building culture. Nevertheless, both rural and urban hop
related structures show some common and specific features. Their roof landscape is especially typical, in which roofs
with low gables and large handling openings for the transport of hops to the lofts and roofs with rows of ventilation
dormers of specific shape have been preserved. All-wooden internal constructions of the buildings also facilitate the
hop growing, during which it was essential to ensure the vertical movement of hop growing from the roof space to the
ground floor for its speedy processing and rationalisation. The crop, as such, is also specific, not only because of its
impact on land-use and the need for structural support for hop bines. As one of the fastest-growing cultivated plants,
hops have a fundamental effect on the landscape’s appearance, in a very extraordinary, dynamic way that distinguishes
it from their majority of other agricultural landscapes. In the main growing season, the appearance of the landscape
changes practically during individual hours, so the visual dynamics of the hop landscape is not comparable to any other
agricultural landscape.

B.2.2 TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY

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COMPONENT PART 01 – SAAZ HOP LANDSCAPE

The Saaz Hop Landscape is an excellent example of a highly concentrated and for hops production continuously used
landscape since the medieval times, bearing all the attributes of growing and processing hops up to the stage of the sale
to whole salers. The local hop fields use wire constructures typical of the area and they are still in authentic positions.
Another important attribute documenting the mutual interaction of man and his environment is proof of technological
and scientific development in the field of professional hop breeding. It is carried out on research hop fields in this
component part, and also includes the management of the Research Farm in Stekník by the Hop Research Institute Co.,
Ltd., in Žatec.

Component part 01, which is a continuous area, can be best characterised by the following elements, some of which
are also individually listed and protected cultural heritage assets. Detail description is in Nomination Dossier, Chapters
2 and 7.c.

Hop fields
The hop fields within component part 01 are located near the confluence of the river Ohře and the stream Blšanka
(called also the Golden stream). Hop fields use wire trellises, the construction principle of which consists of a wire
ceiling formed by transverse (supporting) wires connecting transverse rows of supporting poles (wooden, concrete),
and in-line thin wires used annually to hang training wires to support the growth of the hop plants.

The Research Farm of the Hop Research Institute Co., Ltd. in Stekník manages a total of 149.50 ha of hop fields (of which
140.20 are located directly in component part 01).

Stekník and Trnovany
The village of Stekník lies in the heart of component part 01 and forms its core. It is surrounded by hop fields
th
on almost all sides. Today’s appearance of the buildings and their layout dates from the 18 century. Thanks to the
preserved authentic form of the village core, its buil-up area was declared a protected Rural Heritage Zone in 1995. The
development, which includes hop drying kilns and hop warehouses, is located around the historic village square, and
is supplemented by a chateau with extensive terrace gardens. From the highest level of the gardens, a magnificent view
of the surrounding hop fields opens up in the flood plain below the promontory.