Zámeček Pachtů z Rájova Hunting lodge

Welcome to Jablonné in Podjedí. You're standing in front of a building that carries an amazing story of change and time. The Zámeček Pachtů z Rájova stands before you. If you look at it now, you may not see in it a huge palace like we know from the great cities, but it is in this human scale that its attraction lies. Feel the atmosphere of this place, which in its form resembles a quiet residence, but at the same time hides the energy of old paths and travel adventures.

Let us now stop at how this building was created. Let's move into the eighteenth century in our minds. It was at this time, namely around seven hundred seventy, that the Count Jan Jáchym Pachta z Rájova built the building. The Count, however, did not seek a representative residence for large balls, but rather a practical and cozy place. The castle was intended to serve as a mansion for the overforest and, above all, as a hunting lodge. So imagine how hunting parties used to pass through here, how they prepared for trips to nearby forests and how they rested here after a long day in nature.

Now pay attention to the very form of the construction. The castle is built in Rococo style, which was very popular and elegant at the time. Look at the facade and perceive the lightness this style brings. While time was changing the building, we still feel the original intention of creating a place that is harmonious and pleasant to the eye. Jan Josef Wirch was responsible for the overall circuit and form of construction. When you look at the building, you realize its location wasn't random. The strategic location was crucial because the castle became an important point on the map of the then transport.

This brings us to one of the most interesting features of this place. Notice where the building is. It is because of its location that it has long served as a bus station between Jablonný and Žitava. It is fascinating to realize that this function was determined already in the year of tysages seven hundred thirty-seven. Imagine the constant movement, the sound of the hoof of horses hitting the road, the call of messengers and the stops of passengers who needed to rest or replace the horses before the next trip. The castle was not only a silent home of overland but a vibrant heart of communication in the region.

Speaking of passengers, we can't ignore the personalities who passed through here or were somehow related to this place. History here is very dense. People who wrote the history of Europe moved in or near this place at different times. Among them were Marie Terezie or Josef the second. Notice how small a building can be associated with such large names. But the most fascinating is probably August day in the year of a thousand eight hundred thirteen. That's when Napoleon Bonaparte stopped by. Try to imagine the famous emperor getting out of the carriage right here, in front of you, in Jablonny, Podjedědí. It is incredible that such a figure of world history saw this very corner of Podjedědí. Other important men of their time, such as František baron Trenck or Josef Antonín kníže Poniatowský, also stopped here.

Now let's think about how the building evolved in the next decades. Time passes and people's needs change. The post office's function, which was so crucial, ended in a thousand and eight hundred and ninety-seven. But the building didn't stay empty. That's the fascinating side of the House of Pachts. While other buildings had disappeared after losing their original purpose, this building was constantly adapting. It's strange, given the diversity of institutions here. At different times, there was a gendarmerie station where local officers guarded the order. Later there was a kindergarten, so the silence of the hunting lodge replaced the laughter and noise of children. In a more modern time, even bank branches, namely the Czech savings bank branch, worked here.

Try to recognize this contrast. On the one hand, we have the Rococo elegance and hunting expeditions of Count Pachta, on the other hand, the Napoleon Bonaparte training, and then there is a bank official sitting in one room or teacher teaching young children. It's a mirror to the social development of the entire region. From hunting refuge through diplomatic and military stops to ordinary services for citizens.

Today Zámeček Pachtů z Rájova is a protected cultural monument. It means that its value is no longer in whether the post office or the bank works in it, but in that it is a living witness to history. If you look at it again now, you don't just see the walls and the roof, but the layers of time. You see the ambition of the Pachta family, you see strategic planning of postal routes and you feel traces of famous personalities.

It is a place that teaches us that even smaller structures can be of enormous importance if they are properly placed in the context of their time and place. The castle in Jablonny in Podzedědí remains a silent storytelling of the people who passed through here and the people who lived and worked here.

Now I leave you to look at the surroundings in peace and perceive the silence that today reigns where Napoleon's orders and children's laughter once sounded. Walk slowly through the space around the building, perceive its proportions and imagine how it has changed over the last three centuries. I hope this short trip to the past has helped you see more than just ordinary construction in this house.

Thank you for your attention and I wish you a pleasant continuation in discovering the beauty of Jablonný in Podzedědí and the entire Liberec region. Goodbye.