Slatinka Hamlet

Slatinka - street and settlement in the town of Brno-Slatina - was created in the second period of the 18th century as a small settlement around the pilgrimage temple. It is located about 1.5 kilometres south of the very edge of its cadastre and represents an interesting chapter in Brno's history, as it shows how the Central European settlements have shaped the религival traditions.

The heart of Slatinka is the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Painful, which in 1732 was built by Jan Kryštof z Freyenfelsu, owner of the Líšín estate. The temple was supposed to be a place of pilgrimage and soon a small community grew around it - a pub and several houses formed a short street. The osada was originally named Mariánska Star according to the initiation of the church, the German Maria Stern, but the simpler name Slatinka was taken in the awareness of the locals.

The fate of this settlement changed after the Yosefin reforms. In 1784 the church was abolished and torn down by the state. Although they no longer believed in the temple, the tradition was partially preserved: at the end of the 19th century they built a neo-gothic chapel in its place, which was also dedicated to the Virgin Mary the Painful. This brick construction of the brick wall stands between the houses and forms the center of the street to this day.

In the second half of the 19th century, Slatinka grew - roughly doubled its length towards the north. In 1887 a Flemish railway was built near the northern end of the settlement, which became the only transport link to the location. Three decades later, in 1919, Slatinka became a part of Brno together with the entire Slatia.

The second half of the 20th century gradually isolated the Slatina. The Brno-Turany airport was built south of it, industrial areas around the Slatina railway station were built north and the D1 motorway was built to separate the settlement from the rest of Slatina. These factors turned the once-revived place into an enclave.

Today the Slatinka is almost passable - the street itself is blind and the only access leads from the station Slatina through the Railway. The railway crossing protects the moving barrier here. Citizens or visitors are only driven by the town line 77, which ends at the intersection of these streets and the vehicles turn there. After dark, public transport doesn't come here at all.

Slatinka is an example of a marginalised location in the middle of a large city - a place with a rich history that the progress has gradually cut off from its surrounding community. The readers will come here mainly because of the architectural interest of the chapel and the sad beauty of the forgotten street, which is penetrated in winter or in the rain by a feeling of defiance and a time stop.