Sladovna Settlement

Welcome to a place that has its own independent history and unique character. You are standing in an area that has been much more than just a part of Kroměříže for centuries. This neighborhood, known as Sladovna, was once a separate world, its own cadastral territory, which had its own borders, its own pace of life and its own identity. Now, when you look around you, try to perceive this atmosphere of a place that has become a part of a great city over time, but in its essence has retained a sense of its former autonomy.

Imagine a time when the boundaries between the city and the suburbs didn't look the way they do now. Sladovna was formed northwest of the historical core of Kroměříže, just outside the Mlýn Gate. This gate was once an important point which separated the inner space of the city from the outside and suburban world. This area was not only an accidental settlement, but a thought-out total, which in the past was also defined by natural waterways. By 1858, Sladovna was indeed a separate territory, which means that it had its own legal and administrative background. It was only in the middle of the nineteenth century that it was connected to the Kroměříže unit, which definitely erased this historical border, but its trail in urbanism and in the sense of place remains visible to this day.

Now look at how this neighborhood is arranged. If you look at the surrounding streets, you might notice an interesting distribution that characterizes the entire area. Sladovna historically consisted of two very different parts. If you move towards the south, you will encounter a dense, tight built-up building, which consists of the street Na Kopěnek or Spa. Here the sense of urban density is strongest, the buildings are close together and the space between them is limited, creating a typical atmosphere of old, densely populated suburbs. On the contrary, if you look north, you will see a completely different picture. There is a typical street, where Na Slavna street stretches its line and creates a more open, linear structure. This distribution is not random, but it is the result of historical development and the way people adapted their housing to local terrain and the availability of roads.

Pay attention now to the history that is deeply linked in this place to humanity and care for others. In 1844 something very important happened here for the whole area. A monastery of the merciful sisters of St. Vincent was founded at the time, which became an essential part of this place. The hospital was closely connected to the monastery, which meant that Sladovna became not only a residential area, but also an important social and health centre. Even though these institutions may no longer function in their original form, their presence in the nineteenth century has fundamentally affected the character of this neighborhood and has brought a sense of security and care into the lives of local people.

And now I want to invite you to a little detective game that will make you see the space around you maybe a little differently. You may not see any river right now, you may not hear the sound of water, but believe me, this water was once here and was absolutely crucial. The unique feature of this settlement was the side arm of the river Moravia, which literally divided Sladovna into two parts. This water was an artery that determined how people move and how buildings build. Even though this shoulder of the river has already disappeared today and the water has returned to its main trough, its historical route still exists in maps and in the very structure of the streets. If you go down Reslov Street, you're actually walking the road that the river itself once set out. It's a fascinating idea that under your steps or just next to them, there was once water flowing that shaped this whole world.

This historical trail is one of the biggest secrets Sladovna has to offer. It's an invisible line that connects today's pavements to ancient nature and river dynamics. On your next tour, try to follow this route in spirit and imagine what it would look like if Moravia was still flowing through these streets.

Don't let them stop you just in this place. Sladovna offers much more than just a view of buildings and streets. It offers the opportunity to explore the contrast between the dense development of the south and the more open north, the possibility of feeling the history of monastic care and the possibility of walking on a path that was once excavated by the river. Every alley, every change in house density tells you the story of how this territory was transformed from an independent settlement into an integrated part of the city.

Thank you for choosing to spend some of your time here and pay attention to these hidden stories. We wish you a pleasant journey along these historic streets. Let yourself drift through the atmosphere of this place and at every step of the way try to find traces of the ancient, independent Slade. Good trip.