Muzeum v přírodě Vysočina Open

Muzeum v přírodě Vysočina is a specialized scandal focused on documentation of folk culture in the region of Horácko and neighbouring regions of eastern Bohemia - Chrudim, Litomyšlska and the surroundings of Polička. It is an organizational component of the National Museum in nature and manages three spaces: exposition of the village environment Veselý Kopec and the village monument zone Free Hamry in the village Vysočina (county Chrudim, Pardubice region) oraz village monument reservation of folk architecture Bethlehem in the center of Hlinska. The museum collects both real and movable documents of folk architecture and technical construction of the 18th to 20th century, with its unique value consisting in the transfer of endangered buildings to the natural area and also in the protection of urban buildings in original places.

The foundation of the museum is inseparable from the person Lužek Štěpán (1932- 2017), a building technique and a voluntary monument, which since the 1950s has systematically mapped and medically documented folk construction and technical objects in the northern part of the Czechoslovak Highlands. He worked with the Valachian Museum in nature in Rožnov under Radhošt'át and consultants such as Jaroslav Štika or Jiří Langer. The first major rescue act was the preservation of the King's saw and water mill at Chrudim in Výrad (part of Milesimov) in 1958, where machinery and two water wheels were restored under the Štěpánová Region in 1969-1983; the object is now privately owned and not accessible to the public. The concept of physical transfer of buildings to one site has been implemented since 1969, when Stephen and his volunteers repaired the grafted estate from the beginning of the 17th century in the location Veselý Kopec (formerly Piln's building no. 4). In 1972, this wall of weaving with a barn became the first exposure made available to the public under the title "File of Folk Buildings and Crafts Vysočina." The intention was to create a set of structures representing the area defined by the connection between the cities of Chrudim - Vysoké Mýto - Litomysl - Polička - Svrátka - Chrudim.

The architectural and artistic profile of the museum is defined by moved and in situ preserved objects of grafted folk construction. On the Merry Hill stands the original estate from the beginning of the 17th century with a skylight weaving and a barn. The first carried-over structures included a dry linen (pazderna) from the end of the 18th century with historical heating equipment and original equipment from the Passes near Výrad, a dry fruit from the beginning of the 19th century from Štětěž u Skutče and a polygonal - fourteen-sided barn from the end of the 17th century from Sadek u Poščka, which is a unique technical monument on a European scale. In 1985 the exhibition at the Happy Hill included 25 objects. In the part of the Free Hamry, which has been a village monument zone since 1995, a water-powered building was reconstructed in the years 1976-1980 - a forging hamr and a mill with preserved technology, a remnant of the iron smelter and a water mill (monument protected since 1993). There is also a village castle with Renaissance layout (originally a fortress), protected by monuments since 1958. The third part, Bethlehem in Hlinsk, has since 1989 been an architecturally unique set of rural houses in an urban building, which was declared a historic reservation of folk architecture in 1995.

The ownership and organizational history reflects the gradual professionalisation and changes of the state administration of monuments. After long-term volunteering, the museum was taken over on 1 January 1981 in the administration of the former Regional Centre of State Monument Care and Nature Protection, later the State Monument Institute in Pardubice. On 1 January 1982, it was professionalized under the title "File of Folk Buildings Vysočina, based in Free Hamras, where Luděk Štěpán held the leading position in 1982- 1993 and Petr Kolek in 1994- 1996. In 1997, the administration's headquarters was moved to Hlinska, a renovated building at the entrance to the Bethlehem Reservation, where PhDr. Ilona Vojancová, a long-time associate of Stephen, took over the leadership function. The village castle in Free Hamra was returned to private ownership in the 1990s as part of the restitution. On 9 December 2003, the Vysočina Folk Construction File was declared a cultural monument by the Ministry of Culture in the administration of the National Heritage Institute. From 2013 to 10 December 2018 it belonged to the Regional Heritage Administration on Sychrova and with effect from 11 December 2018 it became an organizational component of the National Museum in nature, a contribution organization of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Key events and attractions include the method of rescue by moving buildings, which made it possible to save unique technical monuments from extinction in the original environment. The 14-sided Barn of Sádek does not have an analogy in Europe and documents the culmination of wooden construction. The area of Free Hamry captures the industrial tradition of the region - forging and mills - with functional water technology. The integration of Bethlehem in Hlin extends the topic of urban folk housing and urban planning. The collection activity, which began in the 1970s by donating articles, has been carried out since 1981 with its own restoration and preservation of collection items of a nationalist nature.

Today the Museum in nature Vysočina presents a comprehensive view of the material culture of Horácka in three variously accessible locations. Exposition Happy Hill and the Free Hamry Monument Zone in the village Vysočina show rural housing and agricultural-craft production in the landscape context of the Iron Mountains, while the reservation of Bethlehem in Hlinsk captures the specific structure of the suburban settlement of weavers and craftsmen. The museum management is located in Hlinsk, the building is part of the National Museum in nature and provides professional care, research and presentation. The visit allows to understand the regional specificities of folk architecture, technology and everyday life during the period of the 17th to 20th centuries in places that either keep this tradition authentic or present it in a coherent whole.