Usedlost čp. 9 (Hlince) Homestead

Welcome to the village Hlince, in the heart of the Pilsen region. You're standing right in front of the estate with number nine, which in a quiet but proud way tells the story of life in the country. If you look at it now, you will see a typical deputy of the grafted farmhouse, which in its form brings a sense of peace and tradition to the local village. It is a place where time has stopped and yet you feel the care that has been given to this space in recent years.

This estate dates back to the nineteenth century. So imagine the time when the rhythm of the day was determined by sunrise and sunset, and the main activity of the inhabitants here was work in the field and in the breeding of animals. It was during this period that most of the elements that you see today arose. The estate was not just a home, but a fully functioning economic unit that was supposed to provide for the entire family. It is a classic example of rural construction, which today helps us understand how people in this area lived and how they used available materials from the surrounding nature.

We will now focus together on the architecture of this building. Note the grafted part of the house. The grafting is very characteristic of the region of Kríčsko and this building is one of the important proofs of the then popular architecture. Look at the walls that are made of laminated wooden beams. Although the house passed in the year two thousand and six in the general repair of some grafted elements and by replacing the windows, it still retains its original face. Look up to the saddle roof, which is now covered by eternity. Although this material is not historical, it protects valuable structures beneath it.

If you could take a look inside the main room, that is, into the skylight, you'd be looking at the beam ceiling. It is these massive wooden beams that form the skeleton of the house and give it stability and a specific atmosphere. It's a space where the whole family used to gather to eat and talk to each other about heat.

Let us now move on to a broader context. Note that this estate does not exist alone. It is directly adjacent to the estate number eight, which is also protected as a monument. From a technical point of view, these two structures together form a very important whole. Imagine them as a couple that together defines the character of this part of the village. It is fascinating to think about what neighborhoods have evolved here over the decades, and how these two goods were complementary within the village community.

Even though we don't know the names of the particular personalities that lived in this house, the building itself is a monument to the thousands of unknown hands that built and maintained it. The history of this place is recorded in official records. On the third May of the year a thousand nine hundred fifty-eight, the estate was officially declared a cultural monument. Later, in September of the year a thousand nine hundred fifty-five, it became part of a wider rural monument zone. This means that the state recognised its value not only as an individual house, but as part of the overall picture of the historical village.

Now, I'm going to lead you to a few interesting things that you might miss when you look at them. Pay attention to the economy. In former stables, which are not under strict conservation, there are very interesting areas. These are rooms with so-called flat fields, which is a specific way of bridging the ceilings. Moreover, these roofs were originally covered with a giant, which is a traditional type of small, rounded tiles that create a beautiful scale look on the roof. It is a detail that shows the craftsmanship of the then builders, who also paid attention to the quality of the design in the animal premises.

While the residential part of the house served to rest and live a family life, these neighboring buildings were the heart of the work. The contrast between the grafted housing and the walled or sealed spaces of the bread shows us how the functions were divided within a single farmhouse.

Now, if you look at the whole object again, feel the atmosphere of the place. This estate has survived over a century of change. She saw new technologies, changes in agriculture, and social upheavals. In two thousand and six, a major reconstruction took place to ensure that the house did not fall apart and that it could continue to be part of the landscape. This allows us to stand before him today and admire his simplicity and functionality.

Remember, folk architecture is not only about wood and stones, but about the people who turned these materials into homes. Each beam and every window in this estate is witnessed by the daily effort, joy and misery of the people who lived here. He is a silent witness to history that reminds us of our roots and the way in which the first homes in this area were built in harmony with nature.

I suggest you now lull around the entire object and see from different angles how the grafted walls meet the surrounding space. Feel how homestead nine cooperates with homestead eight and how together they form the historical core of this village. Try to imagine what this village looked like a hundred years ago, when the animals seemed to be extruding and the air was carrying the sound of work in the field.

Thank you for spending a moment with us at this beautiful monument. We hope you enjoyed this brief dive into the history of rural life in Hlinky. You can now continue to explore the area and discover other hidden corners of the region. We wish you a pleasant continued journey and many other observations. Goodbye.