Stará škola Dřevěnka School building

Stará škola Dřevěnka is a historical grafted building from 1785, located in the Police nad Metují district of Náhod. This Baroque monument serves today as a museum that represents the history of education and is one of the best preserved examples of folk architecture in northeast Bohemia.

The first mention of education in Police dates back to 1560, but the school's original location is unknown. A wooden building from 1705 served in front of the current building. The new school was built in 1785 and its consecration took place on St. Wenceslas. Its creation was linked to the Yosefin reforms that strengthened the emphasis on rural education and education.

The building has a traditional storey grafted construction and is covered by shingles on the Mansard roof, which is a typical element of baroque or late Baroque architecture in the region. On the ground floor there is an entrance hall with original wooden staircase and black kitchen where two school classes are located. Originally they were both equally large and well lit thanks to large windows, but later reconstructions reduced one of them. There were originally teachers' apartments on the floor, each with two skylights.

After the construction of the new building, school teaching took place until the middle of the 19th century, namely around 1856 or 1857, when the building no longer met new needs. Subsequently, the building was used for craft and residential purposes. There was a carpentry shop around 1900. After private use, the building was taken over for museum purposes and is now managed by the Museum of Náchodska.

The current exhibition does not distort the original form of the school, but focuses on the period of the late 19th and early 20th century. The smaller class includes all-seared benches from surrounding villages, such as Půkov and Lower Vernéřovice. The larger class is equipped with tools and textbooks from the 1930s; this equipment comes from a school in Zívka which was located in Lower Vernéřovice. On the floor there is a reconstruction of the teacher's apartment from the beginning of the 20th century with equipment from Mr. Fajt's household from Police nad Metují, including bedrooms, dishes and old refrigerators from Hejtmánkovic. Visitors can also explore the outdoor area - through the former black cuisine they can reach the garden behind the school, where the original latrines and other accessories of the school area are exposed. The building is located in a part of the city known as a steep alley, which is a name derived from the historical direction of access to the cemetery.

Today serves Wood as a thematic exhibition and venue for regional events such as trade days or festivities dedicated to traditions. The building offers an authentic view of social conditions and the daily life of teachers and pupils from the past. It is a valuable source of history that is worth visiting anyone who is interested in the history of folk education and traditional architecture.