Nové Adalbertinum Track

Welcome to Hradec the King. You are standing in front of one of the most important building units in this city, in front of a building that carries walls full of stories, silence and voices of the past. Nové Adalbertinum. While you're looking at its massive form, try to stop for a moment just seeing stones and shapes and begin to perceive the incredible weight of time that radiates from this place. This building is not just part of the urban landscape, it is a living witness to the events that shaped our history. Feel the atmosphere of peace floating here, even though we know how many storms this space must have crossed.

To understand why this building looks like you see it, we must go back deep into the past together, to a time when the maps of Europe were rewritten in the fire of wars. More than 300 years ago, in 1627, the first foundations began to be laid here. Imagine the uncertainty, tension and constant fear that rules people in times of great conflict. It is this era, this devastating 30-year war, that has become the biggest obstacle. The construction couldn't continue at the pace it deserved. She had to wait, she had to survive the worst storm before it was possible to lay the very cornerstone of this Jesuit college in 1644. It's fascinating how even the greatest architecture must subordinate its rhythm to the chaos that controls the world.

This building was born as a Jesuit college, a place for study, prayer and spiritual growth. The Jesuits here shaped the minds and built the bases of their influence. But history has its own plans and is constantly changing. In 1773, a crucial turning point came when the order of Jesuits was abolished. Since then, the role of this place has been constantly changing. The building must have been able to accommodate completely different lives and purposes. At different times, she served as a barracks where there was a sound of the pounding of soldiers and the footsteps of men in uniform, and later as a gymnasium, where again the voice of students seeking knowledge. This ability of the building to adapt, survive and still serve society is one of its greatest forces. Today, it is used by the Church and also by various commercial activities, which is another layer of its constant transformation.

Now pay attention to the very form of the construction that is surrounding you. Look at her shapes and see the Baroque aesthetics. This place represents the peak of baroque style, its monumentality and richness. This whole architectural project is the work of the master who was Pavel Ignác Bayer. Even if you can't touch every detail, feel the harmony and the strength that baroque architecture brings. It's a style that's supposed to create emotions that impress a person and make them feel higher. When you look at the facade and the overall structure of the building, remember how Bayer managed to create a work that dominates the surroundings while acting naturally.

When you look at these walls, remember that there were people in this town and in its vicinity whose names are now in history books. These places are interwoven with shadows and the lights of their lives. There are traces of personalities like Fridrich z Oppersdorfu or Rudolf Ferdinand z Vinoře. There are also names that will imprint the words and images of our culture. Imagine Václav Kliment Klicper, Josef Kajetan Tyl, or the great literature like Alois Jirásek and Karel Čapek. Although their paths may not always face every stone of this building, their spirit and their influence on Czech language and thinking are inextricably linked to this place and this city. They're people who have shaped how we see the world around us today.

And if you think history ends in ancient times, allow me to reveal one very important and modern event that gives this place a new sanctity. In 1997 a moment took place here, which for many was the peak of spiritual life. Nové Adalbertinum was ordained by Pope John Paul II himself. Imagine the presence of a world leader, the weight of the moment when the old Baroque building meets the modern history of the Church. It was a moment that redefined this place and showed that even though its foundations are hundreds of years old, it is still able to accept great events and be the center of the world's attention.

Now that you've gone through this journey of time, from the war years of the Thirty Years' War, to the Jesuit era and the Baroque peak, to the modern age, you may see this building differently. It is no longer just an object of stone and mortar, but a complex story about adapting, about human efforts to create beauty even in difficult times and about the constant movement between what was and what is.

I firmly believe that this view of Nové Adalbertinum has helped you better understand its meaning. But don't stop at this one place. Hradec Králové has many other secrets and beauty for you to discover. So keep walking, perceive the atmosphere of this city and let it take you by its history. Thank you for your journey and I wish you a wonderful continuation in discovering this place. Goodbye.