Reading about the
Fine Little Day's dreamy summer house made me post these few photos of a cottage in the south of the Czech Republic that is of a special interest for me, not so much for the reason that I would want it but rather for the fact that it stands very close to a house I used to live in but only recently, through the announcement of a real estate agency, I have found out about its treasury.
Well, the treasury... depends on what one considers to be a treasury. I did notice the house when I lived in that village (I had a new job in a place near by and I lived in my old aunt's house that by the way was not at all as beautiful) but there are other cottages like that around here. Now turns out that this one is a part of an old fortress, I also knew about the former fortress somewhere behind the cottage, but didn't notice that they were connected like one building.
It means that the origins of the house, let's say at least the walls, date back to 16 - 17th century.
And the interior has been preserved pretty nicely too, although it is not as old. Not only there are ceramic and fully functional stoves in each room
but not much has changed in the rooms
since van Gogh stayed here
sorry for this impertinence but I couldn't help this comparison
but the most amazing thing I am keeping for the very end
and it is an old wooden water mill that is basically functional, the mill is INSIDE of this triple house, you can see the roof of it in the second picture, it has been here the whole time these buildings exist (different machines though) and it worked until the 1950s when planned economy and cooperative agriculture took over.
And yes, one more thing, according to the estate agency, part of the sale is an entrance to an underworld sorry underground corridor that used to connect the old fortress with the medieval castle some three km away. They say the entrance has been bricked up.
Well, the treasury... depends on what one considers to be a treasury. I did notice the house when I lived in that village (I had a new job in a place near by and I lived in my old aunt's house that by the way was not at all as beautiful) but there are other cottages like that around here. Now turns out that this one is a part of an old fortress, I also knew about the former fortress somewhere behind the cottage, but didn't notice that they were connected like one building.
It means that the origins of the house, let's say at least the walls, date back to 16 - 17th century.
And the interior has been preserved pretty nicely too, although it is not as old. Not only there are ceramic and fully functional stoves in each room
but not much has changed in the rooms
since van Gogh stayed here
sorry for this impertinence but I couldn't help this comparison
but the most amazing thing I am keeping for the very end
and it is an old wooden water mill that is basically functional, the mill is INSIDE of this triple house, you can see the roof of it in the second picture, it has been here the whole time these buildings exist (different machines though) and it worked until the 1950s when planned economy and cooperative agriculture took over.
And yes, one more thing, according to the estate agency, part of the sale is an entrance to an underworld sorry underground corridor that used to connect the old fortress with the medieval castle some three km away. They say the entrance has been bricked up.
8 comments:
It looks awesome. Love the "untouched" feeling, and all the details!
It's an indipendent and fully functioning house from back when there were no public mains services! It must be quite something to think that there's still an ancient unexplored underworld beneath your feet ...
I wonder who's going to buy it, and what they are going to do with it (in this country they'd tear it down inside, old stoves and mill included, and make 10 tiny appartments)
I am also afraid that it will not survive very long, in best case they keep the mill and stoves but get rid of the "uncertain traces" of the previous inhabitants. They will purify it into the modern idea of an antique house.
That house is a real adventure! It would be great to have an own mill..
Now that is cool. I have a Czech friend who escaped back in the early eighties. He is an artist; he is close to 60 now but he was a hippie and lived on a commune in the Czech Republic in the early seventies and it was an old house with a mill upstairs. The mill was accessible through a small door in the ceiling with a ladder. When they first opened the door when they moved in a fake leg fell on top of their heads. Kind of creepy. But they eventually found out that one of the old mill workers had a fake wooden leg and that was one of them.
What is his name? Just kidding. This underground stuff in CR is interesting for me as I have missed it completely, although lived in the same time. There is a good testimony of one of such communities living in an old farm in Revolver Revue magazine, No15, you cannot probably get it in Canada, just for reference, it is written by Marie Benetková who then left for Canada.
Such a magic cottage!
My husbands family are "Bohunks" though have lived in the US for many years.
Greetings from NY.
chaloupka ze snu vylouplá! nádhera!
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