Území bojiště u Přestanova, Chlumce a Varvažova Landscape heritage zone

Welcome to the heart of the Chabarovice Basin. Stop for a moment, take a breath and look around you. You're standing in the middle of a vast landscape that can at first glance seem calm and normal. In front of you you can see open spaces, wide agricultural areas and in the distance the dominant peak of Horka, which is victorious over the surrounding area. You may only perceive the wind in the fields and the silence of the countryside, but this country beneath your feet carries deep layers of history. What you see is not only a landscape, but a huge open archive, in which the fate of thousands of people and power surges throughout Central European countries are written.

This area, which we now know as the territory of the battlefield at Přestán, Chlumce and Varvajov, is declared a landscape monument zone. It's a place where over the centuries, armies have met, borders have been decided, and the history of our ancestors has been written. This zone has been officially protected since nineteen hundred ninety-six, because its value is not in buildings or statues, but in the very layout of the terrain and in the memory it keeps. It is a historic landscape of extraordinary value that allows us to perceive space today as it was perceived by soldiers and commanders hundreds of years ago.

Now, when you look around, pay attention to exactly how the landscape is made. Notice the slight hills and deepening Chabarovice pelvis. It was this terrain that was crucial in the past. The strategic location of the hills and valleys determined where the troops followed and where they stopped to fight. Look towards the top of the heat. This point has been the most important landmark for centuries. Already in the year nine hundred and ninety-three there stood the Prince's guard castle, which served as an important watchpoint. Imagine there was a customs office here at the time that controlled the road and protected the region. It was a place of power and control where passengers and traders from different corners of the country met.

Now let's move on in time and try to imagine what happened here. This country witnessed dramatic clashes. One of the most important was the year one thousand twenty-six. Imagine the tension that prevailed in this space when Czech Prince Sobeloslav first led his troops against the Roman king Lothar the third. It was a clash of two powerful personalities and two different ambitions. Soběslav first proved his military prowess here and won a victory which at that time was of great importance for the position of the Czech princes within the empire. When you walk on these fields today, think of the sound of armour, the tearing of horses, and the rumbling of a battle that once drowned the silence of this pelvis.

However, this landscape is also linked to other important figures. For example, we remember Břítislav the first, whose tracks we are moving in the early history of this place, or Jan František Krakovský of Kolovrat, who left his trail in the later history of this region. Each of them perceived this space differently, but all recognised its strategic value.

If we move forward in time, we get to 18,000. That was the time when this landscape turned into a bloody battlefield again. There was an extensive battle at Chlumce, where powerful French troops met with allies. Introduce yourself as a soldier who stood in the same place as you at the time. You would see endless rows of troops, you would hear the rumbling of cannons, and you would see the smoke that covered the horizon of the Chabarovice Basin. This battle was not only a local conflict, but a part of the great European faith that changed the map of the entire continent. That is why today this territory is protected as a monument. It's not about the walls standing here, it's about the space where these events took place.

Now I want to impress you with one interesting thing, which may not be visible at first sight. The whole landscape monument zone is situated on an area of seven hundred forty-nine hectares. It's a huge space that's protected as a whole. It is fascinating to think that such a vast area of agricultural land is also a historic monument. The mystery remains many details of the old clashes that are no longer written in the books, but remained buried in the dirt. Who knows how many forgotten objects or traces of ancient troops are still resting beneath the surface of these fields? It is this invisible layer of history that gives the place a special atmosphere.

Now, when you look around, feel the contrast between today's room and the stormy past. Notice how the agricultural landscape harmoniously intersects with historical points such as the top of the heat. It is a reminder that history is not only in museums or books, but is present in the very country we walk on.

Thank you for joining me on this short journey in time. This landscape still has something to tell if we can only listen to the silence of the fields and observe the line of the horizon. I ask you to continue your walk now, try to map the places where the key moments of the battle at Chlumka took place, and look again at the top of the heat from a different angle. Let your imagination guide you and perceive the spirit of this unique place. I wish you a pleasant rest of your discovery of this fascinating historical landscape. Goodbye.