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Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by the Faculty of Arts of J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem in cooperation with National Heritage Institute, the territorial expert workplace in Ústí nad Labem.
Content
Architectural motifs on medieval seals
Tomáš Krejčík
Architectural motifs on medieval seals in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 5–16; Studies
Seals and coins were part of changes in artistic taste, which was naturally influenced by the fact that these small objects currently had to radiate the power and status of a representative of the elite, most often a monarch. The "discovery" of heraldry gave this endeavour its basic form, it is, however, instructive to trace the development of these symbol s in the period before heraldry became widespread. The vast majority of images of architecture in city seals and coats of arms cannot help answer the question of whether the depiction corresponds to a real building or buildings. Their value lies in the finding that architecture symbolized city rights. Walls, gates, and towers testify to the self-confidence of the urban community and define its power in society.
Burgher houses and households of Prague linen draper merchants in the early modern period from the perspective of estate inventories
Jana Baráková
Burgher houses and households of Prague linen draper merchants in the early modern period from the perspective of estate inventories in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 17–24; Studies
The contribution is based on the research of the inventories of the of Prague burgher families' estates involved in the linen draper trade, which formed an important part of the commercial article in the Prague environment. lt will focus on several significant families, for which it was possible to confront their estate inventory descriptions with other preserved urban sources, which allow the information from the inventories to be interpreted in a wider context. The micro-historically focused view is conceived as a probe into the material culture and everyday life of Prague merchants, as well as the allegiance of trade (economic success, contacts, journeys) to the standard of living.
Monuments not only in stone
Miloš Krčmář
Monuments not only in stone in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 25–34; Studies
The Great War brought a new and significant phenomenon to the European space, which affected, on a mass scale, the public areas of all countries participating in the war conflict. lt was a phenomenon of commemorating the fallen in the distance, fathers, husbands, and sons who died on the fronts or in captivity. Due to the situation, these victims could not be transported to their homelands and it was necessary to bury them in the places of death. However, their families and home communities were looking for a suitable reminder of their wasted lives. This was most often realized in the form of stone monuments located in important municipal places, or the area of municipal cemeteries. However, the turbulent political situation of the newly formed Czechoslovakia du ring the 20th century in some areas after the Second World War brought about the phenomenon of rewriting places of memory and removing monuments left here after to the German-speaking population was displaced. The area called Dubsko was one of the most affected areas in this regard. ln spite of that it is possible to find remains of at least of some monuments or the current use of their torsos as reminders of younger events. A very specific commemoration of war events and victims has been preserved in several churches in Pavlovice, Deštná, and Bořejov. Commemorations realized in the form of stained glass window coverings for individua! fallen soldiers or painted cenotaphs are unique ways of piety to war victims in the region. These overlooked realizations show other possibilities in the field of research for the fallen inhabitants of the Sudetenland and their fates during the war.
Statues of Franz Sieche in Neštěmice (the District of Ústí nad Labem)
Jan Leibl – Martin Zubík
Statues of Franz Sieche in Neštěmice (the District of Ústí nad Labem) in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 35–46; Studies
The article The Statue of Franz Sieche in Neštěmice discusses the rich donor activity of a North Bohemian farmer. The paper analyses in detail the stone cross preserved to this day in the garden of the Neštěmice primary school. lt is a remnant from the cycle of four religious statues, significantly influenced by the Christological sentiments of the donor Franz Sieche, a local farmer from No. 32. lt is also the only free religious statue preserved in the Neštěmice cadastre. Other statues of St. John of Nepomuk from 1786 disappeared with the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918. The Baroque statue of St. Donatus is relocated near the church in Mojžíř and the three Peasant Crucifixions (two from 1800 and one from 1816) disappeared along with other Sieche sculptures during the 20th century. By commemorating Franz Sieche and his donation of sculptures, we wanted to contribute by adding another small fragment to the knowledge of the "unknown" borderland, which, in particular, the decades after the Second World War, led to the impoverishment of our memory and its material documents. ln Neštěmice, more than anywhere else, we can see that for one preserved statue there are ten needlessly lost ones.
New non-destructive methods of exploring historical stone of the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert in Prague
Michal Cihla – Kateřina Kovářová – Eva Matoušková
New non-destructive methods of exploring historical stone of the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert in Prague in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 47–56; Studies
Contemporary building-historical surveys of monuments, in their detailed efforts to understand the building and the process of its construction or later modifications, quite logically focus on a detailed material and technological analysis of individua! structures. Undoubtedly, it is this knowledge that can provide an extended insight into the building history of our ancestors, while at the same time directly informing us about the most appropriate approaches for their most gentle restoration and conservation. ln the case oťstone monuments; one of the fundamental processes in this process is the way in which the building stone is obtained and worked before and after it is set into the construction. The determination of the stone provenance unfortunately often encounters a problem in petrographic research, as it mostly uses destructive analysis. ln the case of monuments, however, it is absolutely necessary to prefer non-destructive methods of investigation. A possible solution to the question of the stone provenance is provided by reflectance spectrometry, which u ses the optical properties of the sto ne as determined by its way of formation. This method was used to investigate the stonework of the southern staircase of the Cathedral of St Vitu s, Wenceslas and Vojtěch in Prague. ln addition to the stone provenance, we also carried out traceological analyses of the sto ne surfaces, specifically using the method of mechanoscopy, to determine not only the morphology of the traces, the form of the tools u sed, but also the working process of the medieval craftsman. The identification of the working method, among other things, also helps us to resolve the question of the stone provenance.
The use of provenance analysis in the identification of sources of sandstone building stone for selected historical objects in the Děčín and Litoměřice areas
Kamil Podroužek – Jiří Adamovič – Natalie Belisová
The use of provenance analysis in the identification of sources of sandstone building stone for selected historical objects in the Děčín and Litoměřice areas in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 57–92; Studies
This study presents possible application of sandstone provenance analysis to issues of cultural heritage conservation and management and history of construction. The analysis was aimed at the identification of source areas of sandstone building stone and millstone for thirteen historical objects in the Děčín and Litoměřice areas in northern Bohemia. Samples of building stone were subjected to a standard set of methods of provenance analysis, i.e., petrographic analysis, phase analysis and pore space analysis using helium pycnometry and mercury porosimetry. The same methods were also applied to sandstone samples retrieved from historical quarries in the Děčín area. For all buildings and other historical objects, the source of sandstone material could be traced down to the level of quarry areas, and even to the level of individua! quarries in some cases. ln the conclusions, the study points to the need of an open access database of provenance-sensitive characteristics of sandstones with the practical aim to identify materials used in historical buildings. The use of authentic material in the reconstruction of objects of historical importance is one of the necessary preconditions for maintaining their authenticity, hence also their historical value.
Reconstruction of Haurowitz's summer villa in Tiché údolí in Roztoky
Marcela Šášinková
Reconstruction of Haurowitz's summer villa in Tiché údolí in Roztoky in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 93–106; Documents
The paper deals with the history and recent construction renovation of two summer villas from the 19th century in the resort of Tiché údolí (The Quiet Valley) in Roztoky. Sigmund and Theresie Haurowitz came to Prague from Mladá Boleslav to expand their entrepreneurial activities in the field of textile manufacturing and trade. ln 1875, they reflected their social status and investment opportunity by purchasing a large plot of land in the emerging and very well-accessible resort located close to Prague. The family gradually grew and thus, a few years after the construction of one villa (1882), a design for a second, significantly larger villa was created (1897). The author of the design was the Prague architect Josef Blecha. Both villas were incorporated into a large garden with small garden gazebos, partly according to František Thomayer's project. Destruction struck the family and its property after seventy long years of summer stays. Jewish origin, forced emigration, the Emigration Fund, the imposed national administration, the municipality of Roztoky ... A few years later, Haurowitz's villas became social housing and a dormitory for the local construction company workers, the garden lost its charm and the devastated properties became a nuisance to the administrators. A lucrative plot of land in a historic resort near Prague was targeted by developers, but thanks to the activity of residents, both villas and the plot of land were declared a cultural monument in 2009. ln recent years, the Tiché údolí location has attracted the attention of not only traditional tourists, but also architectural historians, local historians, and archivists. The expensive construction renovation of Blecha's villa was successfully carried out, and the older villa is also gradually being repaired. The building, which serves the citizens of the city along with part of the restored garden, thus becomes a means of interpreting the past.
"My veranda is the most beautiful room in my villa": Frantisek Leo Perutz's family home in Prague's Dejvice
Petra Svobodová
"My veranda is the most beautiful room in my villa": Frantisek Leo Perutz's family home in Prague's Dejvice in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 107–116; Documents
ln 2019, the Museum of Roma Culture took over the management of a family house on Velvarská Street in Prague's quarter called Dejvice, which was designed by the Prague architects Viktor Hirth and Ernst Mühlstein in the late 1930s for textile entrepreneur Franz Leo Perutz of Jewish origin. The functionalist villa with romantic elements has not been permanently inhabited in recent years, but has often served as film sets. From 2024, the newest branch of the museum - the Roma and Sinti Centre in Prague - will work in the reconstructed villa. The aim of this contribution is to present the family villa of F. L. Perutz in the context of the work of its designers and the business background of the investor's family, and certainly its future use for the needs of the museum, i.e. the villa as a house-museum.
Modern technologies in the presentation of the Bouzov State Castle
Sylva Bucherová
Modern technologies in the presentation of the Bouzov State Castle in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 117–120; Reports
Bouzov State Castle, which was declared a national cultural monument in 1999, is one of the ten most visited monuments managed by the National Heritage Institute in the Czech Republic. Approximately 100,000 visitors visit it annually on six sightseeing routes. The period of the castle's foundation is generally considered to be the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and Búz of Búzov is the first known owner. Bouzov Castle was radically rebuilt at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance style at the request of the then Grand Master of the Order of German Knights, Archduke Eugene of Habsburg. The construction was carried out by Professor Georg von Hauberrisser of the Munich Academy. The presentation of the tours is in the classical manner, i.e. a guided tour with Czech or foreign-language interpretation by a guide. Visitor demands are increasingly high in terms of the services and information provided during the tours and the time spent before the tours begin. Castle and chateau administrations have to look for new ways and methods to engage the visitor so much that he or she chooses to visit their object.
Annual Report of the Centre for Documentation and Digitisation of Cultural Heritage
Veronika Chalupová
Annual Report of the Centre for Documentation and Digitisation of Cultural Heritage in Monumentorum Custos 2023, pp. 121–122; Seminars, Conferences, Events
The year 2023 brought several projects to the Centre for Documentation and Digitization at the Faculty of Arts, UJEP. In addition, the Centre for Documentation worked on several smaller commissions in 2023.