Case study: The Battle for Jezeří Chateau: Difference between revisions

A small group of persistent campaigners to save Jezeří with a larger circle of supporters established itself as the “Association to Save Jezeří” in 1988. It registered itself with the Ministry of the Interior when a mild political thaw came. Later on, the citizens’ association name was changed to the “Association to Restore Jezeří” in order to better express its current goals and efforts. The purpose was not only to save the historic building but also to restore its surroundings and the remains of the original landscape. A notable paradox then occurred: the Association exponents who were experts on various scientific disciplines and land use, who were previously in opposition to the governing political team, now became an informal advisory board to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party! The one who took up the task of resolving the long neglected and truly pressing environmental problems: Rudolf Hegenbart. Associations members were summoned as needed and met in Prague, usually in the Terplan basement. An exceptional meeting was held in the little-known Ore Mountains hamlet with a long mining tradition, Hora Sv. Kateřiny, in October 1988, when they celebrated the birthdays of the environmental activist Petr Pakosta as well as Dr Marek.

Soon afterwards, however, the party and government began to break apart and collapse in November 1989. That had serious implications for Jezeří. The former all-governing position of North Bohemian Mines lost its political support and, soon after that, its economic power. They were forced to reduce the mining activities to a fraction of the previous volume, making the advance of the Czechoslovak Army opencast mine slower. They had to start acting at least a little “environmentally”, since that was the universal imperative of the new era.

Jezeří was receiving increasing visits by new statesmen, ministers, deputies, Prime Minister Petr Pithart, and President Václav Havel. William Lobkowicz, the grandson of the last pre-war owner, arrived from the USA in 1990, took up permanent residence in Prague and requested the chateau be returned to him. One of my colleagues at Jezeří, Dr. František Jeniš, left for an expedition called “Driving a Tatra Round the World” and died in the mountains of Pakistan.

Through Ing. Stoklasa, who had become an advisor to Minister Vavroušek in the meantime, the Association tried to promote the idea of making Jezeří a national centre for studies of possible rehabilitation of extremely damaged landscapes. Something similar exists in Austria, where the state has given Chateau Laxenburg, confiscated from the Habsburgs, to international environmental projects. Ing. Stoklasa brought up the proposal in various ministerial and environmental circles, including abroad, but did not succeed.

Jezeří Chateau was no longer an exception as a heritage building saved just prior to destruction under the new political conditions. Other regions too began making claims on funds for renovating their dilapidated heritage buildings, such as Brno did for Špilberk. Faced with such a situation, the government gladly complied with former owners’ claims, and restored Jezeří Chateau to the Lobkowicz family.

Nevertheless, Prince Charles was not the only royalty to visit Jezeří. In another official state visit, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and her husband, Prince Klaus, arrived in the company of the Dutch Ambassador, Chancellor Dobrovský and Minsters Dlouhý and Benda in 1994. As part of the Presidential Office plan, the welcome in the chateau garden was be followed by a view from “Charles’ Vista” and a presentation by the North Bohemian Mines manager. Local environmental activists protested against that. They convinced Chancellor Dobrovský that the presentation should only be made by Dr Marek. The mine manager would then be allowed to boast the mining successes in the basin below. Dr Marek handed the Queen the commemorative essay “Krušné hory, Jezeří and related matters” and a handful of raw Bohemian garnets. The Queen said she “would like to be as helpful as possible in saving Jezeří and the landscape”. Unfortunately, her willingness was not exploited as a result of an avalanche of other events. Ministers Benda (environment) and Dlouhý (industry and trade) said nothing and would make no perceptible effort for Jezeří later on.

Following the exceptional case of the State taking back over a property that had been restored to its legitimate owner, the State invested some money in its renovation, but far less than the demanding project required. So work proceeded only slowly. Nevertheless, several years later, one can appreciate that the chateau gleams in the distance with its new roofing, repaired chimney heads, copper-plated cupolas, and gilded balloons on the spires. Parts of the chateau have been made accessible to the public. The warden is Hana Krejčová, a local and a former singer at Teplice Theatre, who has a welcome attachment to the place and the chateau. We may yet see the renovation completed.

The saving of Jezeří was a battle won among the several large battles that individuals and environmental groups waged against megalomaniacal projects promoted by the Party and those in power at the time. They prevented the construction of a large dam on the Berounka near Chateau Křivoklát and a high-rise hotel on the top of Sněžka (the highest peak in the Czech Republic). The only thing they failed to prevent was the development of a car racing circuit in a suburban forest near Brno, which totally ruined the notion of the idyllic setting of the writer Alois Mrštík’s “May Fairytale”. That can be regarded as a fair success during the totalitarian era.

Jezeří Chateau was opened to the public again in June 1996. Given the state of the monument, a whole range of provisional arrangements were made to enable basic viewing. There weren’t many options for exhibiting the chateau, and so in making it accessible it was necessary to overcome many various technical obstacles. It was necessary to delineate the best preserved part of the entire premises that wouldn’t represent a safety risk to visitors. The most suitable solution proved to be making several rooms partially accessible in the northern part directly connected to the chateau gardens whose main gate was used for providing temporary access to the grounds. In 1996, two rooms were made accessible – the small salon and a bedroom with direct access to the chateau gardens, where a small wooden outbuilding was also used for selling tickets and souvenirs. The tour itself included only a commentary on the chateau’s history and the showing of a short documentary film about the chateau’s history and surroundings because the chateau was completely empty of any fixtures. The second part of the tour was of the cellars and chateau silversmith workshop. After several years, the tour circuit expanded to a further three rooms and in the northern tower where a labelled exhibition of the 19th century interior was installed with a look at how the building was used for hunting purposes in the past. An inventory from the National Heritage Institute depository in Ústí nad Labem was used for this exposition, while supernatural creatures and fairy-tale characters were installed in the cellars.