Detailed History of Slatina

The Meaning of the Name Slatina and the Beginnings of its Settlement

Most names of surrounding medieval villages derive from the names of the clan elders who founded them — for example, Kadov (Kadův dvůr, 'Kadov's Court'), Svéradice ('village of Svérad's people'), Dobrotice ('village of Dobrota's people'), Holkovice ('village of Holka's people'), and so on. Slatina takes its name from the place of its founding: wet, boggy, marshy — slatinná — ground that spread particularly in the areas now built over, bearing the local names 'V Laznách' and 'V Židovnách'. Village names derived from the local character of the landscape are generally typical of villages founded by the earliest ecclesiastical colonisation (Pole — 'village on the field', Hradiště — 'village at the hillfort').

The original buildings of the village consisted of peasant farmsteads in the part of the village known locally as 'Ves' (The Village), arranged around the village green, while the cottage section 'V Chalupách' is of a later date. The village lies at an elevation of 480 metres above sea level and the cadastral area covers 564 hectares. Population figures in selected years were as follows: 1869 — 443, 1900 — 357, 1930 — 275, 1950 — 184, 1980 — 153, 2000 — 111.

The Slatina hills with their harsh climate were certainly not a great attraction in the past for permanent human settlement. While in the lowland catchment of the gold-bearing River Otava and its tributary Březový brook we find the first traces of human presence as far back as prehistory — in the Late Stone Age and especially in the Bronze and Iron Ages — the Slatina area was settled much later. We have only sporadic reports of this settlement.

In the mid-20th century, finds from the period of Slavic settlement were made at the site of the Korhelov farm, house no. 26. Based on the description of the artefacts found, this appears to have been a Slavic burial ground from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is a pity that these finds were not professionally evaluated. During land drainage work in the locality of Pod Náramkem, a considerable quantity of ceramic sherds was ploughed up, probably also from this period. Settlement of this site was apparently linked to the nearby natural feature known as Čertův náramek (Devil's Bracelet), which in pagan times may have served as some kind of ritual site. It is regrettable that these finds were not preserved and could not be dated. In the second third of the 20th century, a surface archaeological survey of the Březový brook catchment and its tributaries was carried out under the direction of archaeologists PhDr. Jan Beneš (Plzeň) and PhDr. Jan Michálek (Strakonice), later followed by Mgr. Jindra Hůrková of the Klatovy museum. In collaboration with several amateur archaeologists, the entire catchment from Strážovice to Kněží hora near Katovice was investigated over several consecutive years. Two sites of late Slavic settlement were found within the Slatina cadastral area.

The site 'Za Koheloc' — probable existence of a manor from the 13th and 14th centuries. Numerous shards of pots and graphite storage vessels were found here, along with two shards of spindle whorls made from graphite pottery, as well as fragments of ceramics and tiles from the 15th and 16th centuries predating the manor.

The second site lay by the former fishpond of Slatina, also known as Velký rybník (the Great Pond), which was drained in 1888. In the vicinity of the hill where the current pheasant rearing station stands, fragments of pots from the 13th to 14th centuries were found, along with a spindle whorl shard, a button with a hole from the 14th and 15th centuries, and a fragment of a large stone grindstone.

Slatina as a Church Estate Belonging to St. George's Convent

The village of Slatina is first mentioned in written sources (Profous–Svoboda, Místní jména v Čechách, Prague 1957) in the year 1284.

Ing. Vladimír Klečka, CSc., on the basis of long-term research, traced the history of Slatina back to a much earlier period. In his work he states that Slatina was founded in the second half of the 12th century. Together with several other villages, it is among the oldest in the area — for example, the village of Hradiště (formerly Na Gradišti, near Kasejovice), the village of Pole (formerly Na Poli), the villages of Záboří, Bratronice, Slivonice, Pačejov and others. These were former scattered Slavic settlements whose centres were the Slavic fortified hillforts of Na Hradišti near Kasejovice and Na Práchni near Horažďovice. A major intervention in the development of the early medieval village of Slatina was the construction of a small church manor around 1220 and the building of a church dedicated to St. Wenceslas by St. George's Convent at Prague Castle.

The Church of St. George at Prague Castle was founded shortly before his death in 921 by Bohemian Duke Vratislav I. Around 974–976, Mlada, sister of Duke Boleslav II, made a diplomatic journey to Rome. She brought back the Pope's consent for the founding of a bishopric and the establishment of the first female Benedictine convent in Bohemia, which she headed as abbess. The Church of St. George became the convent church and was used by the new community of Benedictine nuns. The church and convent underwent numerous building modifications, associated above all with the reign of Charles IV. By imperial decree in 1782 the convent was dissolved and served various purposes. In the second half of the 20th century extensive archaeological investigations were launched and restorations carried out, which today illuminate its important past. The convent complex now serves the needs of the National Gallery.

This convent founded and owned seven manors — church estates — in this area. Bohemian King Přemysl Otakar I confirmed the ownership rights of St. George's Convent over the church manors of Pačejov and Pole in 1227, and over Slatina, Záboří, Bratronice and Slivonice in 1228. The convent owned the estate in Slatina and Pole for a total of 56 years, until 1284, when Bishop Tobias sold it for 170 marks of silver to Lord Bohuslav, castellan of Zvíkov Castle. St. George's Convent did not sell its remaining estates in the area until 1305: Hradiště, Bratronice, Záboří and Slivonice — most of which subsequently became minor noble estates. At the time of the sale in 1284 the Slatina church estate already comprised three ploughlands, i.e. approximately 52 hectares. Slatina remained part of the Zvíkov Castle domain until 1303.

No architectural remains or archaeological finds from the period of the church estate's documented existence have survived. No survey has been carried out at the presumed site of the manor. However, one very interesting find exists that may be connected to this period. In 1922, during the transport of a heavy steam traction engine, the rear part of the machine sank into a depression in the ground before the entrance to a barn. After the traction engine was freed, it was established that there was probably an underground space or passage at this point, whose vaulted crown the machine had broken through. For reasons of time — the threshing of grain was under way — the opening was filled in. The existence of this underground space was confirmed in 1958, when workers of the Slatina agricultural cooperative were extending the existing stable (a former horse stable). During excavation of the foundation strips, this underground space was opened, but again on this occasion the find was not reported for professional assessment. Measurements made using a dowsing rod indicate the existence of a larger underground space, which could be connected to some medieval structure.

Slatina in the Possession of Noble Families

The Lords of Nebřehovice.

In 1303 Slatina was purchased by the lords of Nebřehovice near Strakonice. This family is first mentioned in Bohemia in 1253, when the holder of the village of Nebřehovice is recorded as Petr of Nebřehovice, a retainer of Bavaro of Strakonice. The Nebřehovice family held that village with its manor and plough-farm until 1517, when they sold it to Jan of Rožmberk. It is noteworthy that in the same year they also sold Slatina. Their coat of arms bore two keys, as did the related families of Pole, Tažovice and Hoštice. From the period of their ownership of Slatina, an interesting entry appears in the Liber memorabilium — the Memorial Book of the Town of Horažďovice. Horažďovice, by virtue of its high level of municipal judicial authority, also exercised it over a wide surrounding area, including Strakonice. The entry from 1454 concerns a contract for the Slatina fishpond (later known as Velký rybník) and is reproduced here in an abridged and adapted form.

The noble squire Bohuslav of Lukavice and Kadov and the widow Barbora, after the deceased Bruk of Nebřehovice, concluded a contract for the Slatina fishpond. Each of them held one half of the fishpond, which Lady Barbora demonstrated by means of "… a parchment document with seals attached on cords …". The contract contained the following provisions (a simplified extract):

Both parties shall jointly stock the pond with fish,
If Lord Bohuslav, within half a year after the fishpond is drained, notifies Lady Barbora that he wishes to buy out her half, she must accept this and also hand over her deed,
The same procedure shall apply if Lady Barbora gives notice to Lord Bohuslav,
If one party wishes to sell the fishpond, it must be sold only to the other party,
If the other party does not wish to buy the fishpond, the seller has the right to sell it to a third party, i.e. an outside buyer.

This entry is one of the oldest records confirming the existence of a fishpond in this region. Covering more than 12 hectares, the Latinský velký pond — as it was later referred to in the estate records of Slatina — was the largest fishpond in the area. With a little imagination, the view of Slatina reflected in the surface of this pond must, in its day, have been a remarkable sight.

The 203 years of Nebřehovice ownership of Slatina was interrupted only briefly, in 1426–1436, when it was owned by Oldřich Kočka, holder of the manor and stronghold of Družetice. In the 16th century Slatina was divided into two halves, each with its own separate owners. One part was held by the Oselce family of Oselce and the other by the Záborský family of Brloho.

Slatina Divided into Two Parts

In 1517 Slatina was purchased by Jindřich Oselecký of Dlouhá Ves. The lords of Oselce of Dlouhá Ves belonged to one of the already fairly branching offshoots of the Dlouhoveský family (the Chanovice, Kraselice and Častolár branches). In 1543 Petr Oselecký, son of Jindřich, had Slatina, among other property, entered in the land register. After his death in 1578 his widow Nabka became heiress to the extensive estate and divided it among her three daughters. His daughter Markéta, married to Jan Kokořovec of Kokorovo, received Oselce and Slatina. They had four sons and three daughters, among whom the family property was divided. Oselce with Kotouň and Slatina went to Jan Vilém, who married Eva Kateřina Markvartová of Hrádek. After the death of her husband, Eva Kateřina together with her son Diviš sold all their joint property in 1671. At some later, unknown date this part of Slatina came to the charity fund of the Horažďovice hospital, where it remained until 1731, when the holder of the second half of Slatina, Kunaš of Machovice, forcibly annexed it to his estate (discussed further in the section on the Kunaš of Machovice family).

According to the berní rula — the first survey of serf land and settlements conducted in the Bohemian kingdom in 1654 — the first part of Slatina belonged to the town of Horažďovice. This part had the following serfs:

Farmers: Blažej Krůta (21 strychy of land), Matěj Dvořák (21 strychy), Martin Vaněček (21 strychy), Jan Skřítek (30 strychy)
Cottagers: Ondřej Vyšehrad (10 strychy)
Gardeners: Lidmila Skřítková (2 věrtele), Václav Srub (1 strych)
These farmers worked a total of 103 strychy of land and kept 7 horses, 12 oxen, 17 cows, 16 heifers, 43 sheep and 16 pigs

The Second Part of Slatina

The second part belonged to the Záborský family of Brloho. This old Bohemian family is first mentioned in 1318 at the stronghold of Dobev near Písek. One branch of the family held Záboří and Kadov, which — together with Slatina (or part of it) — were entered in the land register by Bušek Záborský in 1543. One of his sons, Alexandr, held Slatina until 1620, when he died. With his wife Anna Vamberecká of Rohatce he had sons Alexandr, Václav and Kryštof. Alexandr, who received the noble estate with part of the village when the inheritance was divided, styled himself 'Alexandr Václav of Brloho, residing in Slatina'. This predicate suggests he had some kind of noble residence built here. (Hille records a manor house.) He 'resided' in Slatina until 1677, when he sold it and settled in the manor house in Kozlov. Also noteworthy is the parish register entry: "On 10 December 1667 Lord Alexandr Václav Záborský of Brloho and residing in Slatina confirmed in wedlock with the Noble Lady Ludmila Strojetická of Strojetice." The witnesses to the wedding in the church of St. Wenceslas in Kadov were: the noble and valiant knight Markvart Strojetický of Strojetice, Mikuláš Bořek Řepický of Řepice, Jiří Strojetický of Strojetice and of Řezanice, and the Noble Lady Anna Řepická. The fact that this important wedding was held in the Kadov church indicates that the subsequent wedding feast must have taken place at the Slatina noble residence. The existence of this noble seat is further confirmed by two additional entries: "On 3 June 1677 Alena Strojetická of Strojetice of Přebudov, residing in Slatina, passed away in the Lord; and in 1681 Maxmiliána Strojetická of Strojetice and of Slatina died."

In 1654, when Alexandr Záborský of Brloho held Slatina, the survey of serf land known as the berní rula was conducted in the Bohemian kingdom. In addition to land, the survey recorded animals and draught animals. Serfs were divided into three categories: farmers, cottagers and gardeners (smallholders).

The following serfs belonged to the estate of Alexandr Záborský:

Farmers: Jiřík Sahan (21 strychy), Jiřík Řehna (21 strychy), Matouš Řehna (21 strychy), Jiřík Fijala (21 strychy), Václav Smetana (21 strychy),
Cottagers: Matěj Slon (9 strychy), Adam Slon (9 strychy), Jiřík Záveský (9 strychy),
Gardeners: Václav Němec, Jiřík Pštros and Anna Krejčová, who had no land, and Štěpán Švec with 3 strychy.

Together they farmed 150 strychy of arable land and kept 21 oxen, 19 cows, 18 heifers and 10 pigs. The new lord of this part of Slatina in 1677 became Jan Kavka of Svárov and his wife Ludmila, née Římanská. Shortly afterwards, in 1680, Slatina was in the possession of Adam Oppl. After his death, his widow Afra Voršila Opplová, née of Videršperk, sold the noble estate in 1688 to her son-in-law Václav Ferdinand Kunaš of Machovice. The Kunaš family left a significant mark on the history of Slatina, so we shall look at them in more detail.

The Kunaš Family of Machovice

The Kunaš family of Machovice was an old Bohemian minor noble family that originated from the stronghold of Machovice near Hluboká nad Vltavou. Their coat of arms, divided by a bar, bore two lilies above and one below, with a crest depicting a man's bust wearing a hat and feathers. The history of this family is very rich. At the end of the 14th century, the brothers Vyšata and Buzek received the village of Chřenovice from King Václav IV. Members of the family in subsequent decades held several villages in southern Bohemia. At the beginning of the 16th century they split into two branches. The last member of the family died with Josef Kunaš, who owned Mešetice in the mid-19th century.

Václav Lev Kunaš, son of Vilém Kunaš and his wife Krystýna Marie of Branišov, held the estate of Dlouhá Ves in addition to Chřenovice (1679–1687). He sold both estates and in 1688 purchased from his mother-in-law Afra Voršila Opálová of Vidšperk the small Slatina estate comprising a manor house, a plough-farm and part of the village. Václav Lev Kunaš settled at the small noble seat, which can hardly be called a stronghold. Evidence of this includes several children born here to his wife Helena Magdalena, née Kalenicová of Kalenice, who were baptised in the Záboří church (the Kadov parish had no incumbent at that time):

Václav Ferdinand Šebestián — baptised 23 January 1691
Zuzana Antonie — baptised 5 September 1692
Anna Polyxena — baptised 1693
Ludmila — 1695
František Augustin — 1698 (studied at the Jesuit grammar school in Březnice and for a time held the estate of Slatina)
Jan Vilém

On 29 March 1698 the knight Václav Lev Kunaš of Machovice, lord of Slatina, died and was solemnly buried in the Kadov church. His wife Helena died on 27 July 1709 at the age of 52 and was also buried in Kadov. Also buried there is František Augustin, who briefly managed the noble estate after his father Lev Kunaš's death. After his mother's death, the firstborn son Václav Ferdinand Kunaš became heir to the Slatina estate in 1712. He married Anna Františka Vojetická of Nová Ves and they had ten children together. Notably, the last five were already baptised in the Chapel of St. Wenceslas at the noble seat.

The first five children were mostly baptised in the Záboří church; one child was baptised by the Záboří parish priest Sommer in Kadov:

Marie Anna Helena Kateřina was born on 21 May 1717, baptised in Kadov, and died on 20 August 1717,
Marie Josefa Kateřina Johanka was born on 23 June 1717, and died on 23 April 1719 at the age of two,
Marie Anna Laurentia Barbora Josefa was born on 6 August 1718 and in 1742 married Jan Antonín Möller of Klatovy,
Jan Karel František Václav was born on 13 October 1720 and died on 7 October 1721 as a one-year-old boy,
Jan Vilém František Josef was born on 8 August 1722. As a young knight he pursued a military career and died in battle at the age of 70 in 1792.

Given the noble origin of the godparents and witnesses present at the baptisms of all the Kunaš children, these must have been splendid occasions. Slatina had never before seen such a procession of noble persons as those who visited it for these christenings. Let us note these noble individuals:

The noble lady Polyxena Achtmanová, Marie Kateřina Vojická of Nová Ves, Jiří Jindřich Vojický of Nová Ves, Barbora Janovská of Oselce, Ferdinand Rumerskirch of Chanovice, Antonín knight de Andlanen, Victoria Dluhoveská, Josefa Rumerskirch of Chanovice, Dorota Janovská of Janovice and of Oselce. Each baptism was attended by 3–4 godparents and witnesses.

The next five children, born in 1724–1734, were already baptised in the Chapel of St. Wenceslas at the 'Slatina chateau', of which we shall say more below. This confirms that Václav Ferdinand Kunaš must have rebuilt the Slatina noble seat around 1724 and had the Chapel of St. Wenceslas built within it. The further Kunaš children were:

Jan Václav Jindřich was born on 6 October 1724 and was baptised in the Chapel of St. Wenceslas in Slatina by the guardian of the Horažďovice monastery,
Jan František Karel was born on 16 December 1726; he too pursued a military career and died on 4 March 1759 as an ensign of the Württemberg Dragoon Regiment; he was buried in Kadov on 7 March 1759,
Maria Josefa Antonia Kateřina was born on 12 June 1729; her further fate is unknown,
Jan Nepomucký Josef František was born on 30 December 1731 and succeeded his father Václav Ferdinand as holder of Slatina,
Jan Nepomuk Arnošt Karel Václav Ignác was born as the last child on 24 August 1734. For him it is worth naming the godparents and witnesses present at his baptism in the noble chapel:
Karel Hubert — Count of the Holy Roman Empire of Quadaille, lord of Levenec and Nové Zámky in Moravia,
The Most Reverend Lord Václav Janovský of Janovice, canon of Hradec Králové,
The noble lady Anna Lemeyrová, née Karkulová of Strakonice and of Lhota.

Václav Ferdinand Kunaš died at a relatively young age on 7 April 1736. He was 46 years old. Looking back over the quarter-century of his ownership of the small Slatina estate, we must acknowledge that his life was driven above all by a desire to expand and improve his estate, even by very harsh means.

The circumstances by which Kunaš chose to acquire the second half of Slatina — and thus annex it to his estate — entered the annals of local memory. His close friend of the Horažďovice estate lords, Ferdinand Kunaš, negotiated with the owner of the Horažďovice domain, Eleonora, Princess of Mansfeld and Fondi, an exchange of serfs. Kunaš bought out five farmers in total — three in Hliněný Újezd and two in Svaté Pole — and exchanged them for five Slatina farmers who had until then belonged to the alms fund of the Church of Ss. Peter and Paul in Horažďovice, administered by the Strakonice Knights Hospitaller. The Slatina farmers wanted nothing to do with this change; they wished to remain serfs of Horažďovice, where they had far lighter labour obligations than their neighbours. Old memorial documents tell us about this incident.

The farmers belonging to the Horažďovice alms fund — Jan Křítek, the wealthiest Slatina farmer, Pavel Krůta, Kašpar Vaněček, Jiří Vyšehrad and Martin Dvořák — enjoyed great freedom, having exemptions from labour duties and other privileges alongside quite different obligations. One of these was that on a certain day they had to travel to Strakonice and pray there on behalf of the estate, after which they were treated to a meal. Later they were permitted to perform this act of prayer in Horažďovice. This state of affairs lasted until 1731. In that year, when Kunaš had negotiated the exchange of farmers, the Slatina farmers went once again to Horažďovice to fulfil their prayer obligation. Having done so, they entered a tavern, where they boasted of their written privileges, which they said would protect them from Kunaš. One of them sent a messenger to Slatina to fetch their privileges. The messenger did receive them in Slatina, but did not bring them back to Horažďovice, as he was robbed of them — apparently by Kunaš's servants. The farmers returned home without their documents. Kunaš had the sons of these farmers chased around the fields and caught, to make them pledge submission. Their fathers, at a loss what to do, went to the castle in Horažďovice to plead that they should not be given over to Kunaš's subjection. But from the castle they were sent away with an admonishment to go home, as that was where their lord now was. A remarkable account has survived of how Lord Kunaš received his new serfs, written down by the farmers themselves for the memory of their descendants (preserved for a long time in Slatina along with other documents, now lost):

"As soon as we arrived home, Lord Kunaš sent for us and demanded that we pledge submission. We refused in every possible way. Jan Křtitel said: 'Rather than be Your Lordship's serf, I would — God protect us — be the Devil's serf.' At that answer Lord Kunaš flew into a rage, had a lead ball sewn into a horsewhip, and ordered Křítek to strip to his shirt. He then gave him ten strokes. 'Will you be my serf or not?' asked Kunaš. But Křítek said: 'I will not.' He gave him five more. 'Will you be my serf or not?' 'I will not.' He gave five more strokes. He asked again: 'Will you be my serf?' And when he answered that he would not, he received ten more strokes. Thirty in all. Poor Jan did not know what to do with the pain, and finally said: 'I will.' Jiří Vyšohrad, because he refused to pledge submission, received twenty strokes. Jan Dvořák, because he too refused to be a serf, was evicted from his own farm and placed in a cottage. Kašpar Vaněček, seeing the tyranny being committed, pledged, as did Pavel Krůta."

As to what Jan Kunaš did with Jan Křítek's property, the author of the account continues: "That very year he evicted him from his farm and placed him on the Dvořák farm, and seized that one for himself. He had the living room, chamber and vaulted kitchen demolished. He turned the stables into a Jewish tenement. There was also a stone granary with two floors, two gables on top and a fish holding pond below it, a shed with a loft on top, a barn built for one and a half farms. That same Jan Skřítek also had half a farm bought from Vyšohrad for 50 groschen, and a cottage, which he took from him and sold to a Jew for 100 guilders. The fields he liked he kept for himself and distributed the rest among the farmers. He also took his small fishpond. The poor heir Vavřinec has lived in poverty since childhood. Three of his sisters — Anna, Ludmila and Kateřina — are in service." The account ends with the words: "God, deign to right this wrong done to us!"

The Slatina Land Register of 1732

To secure his newly acquired property legally, Kunaš established in the very next year a new land register (pozemková kniha) for his Slatina estate, describing Slatina in 1732. On the introductory page Václav Ferdinand Kunaš inscribed the following opening text: "This Urbarium Book founded by the Noble and Valiant Knight Lord Václav Ferdinand Kunaš of Machovice. At that time Lord of Slatina, who thus divided the village of Slatina equally in terms of farms and other relevant manorial obligations and settled it, accepted from the manorial court the farmstead fields noted below, from which fields his Imperial Grace as well as spiritual burdens each future holder of said estate shall be obliged to pay as further noted and appended. Whereof the date the second day of January, in the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and thirty-two. Václav Ferdinand Kunaš of Machovice, at that time Lord of Slatina."

The land register lists all peasant farms and cottages and their condition — whether built of wood or stone. This book is an immensely valuable source of information about this turbulent period. From it we learn that Kunaš appropriated for his demesne fields not only those of the five offenders but of all other farmers too. We list their names (the area of confiscated fields is given in strychy after the name — 1 strych = 0.285 ha). Farms: Krůtovský 3.5 str., Vaněčkovský 7 str., Vyšohradovský 2.5 str., Dvořákovský 6 str., Fialovský 3.5 str., Křítkovský 15 str., Zíkovský 2.5 str., Hejtmánkovský 4 str., Rodinovský 2 str., Adámkovský 2 str., Smetanovský 5 str. Cottages: Křížovská 2 str., Kopáčkovská 4 str. and Šimůnkovská 1 strych. In total Kunaš seized 60 strychy of fields from the farmers.

Slatina Farms and Cottages in 1732

The first third of the 18th century appears to have been a turning point in the use of wood versus stone as building materials. All ten farms or peasant homesteads had the same layout of dwelling: the large living room, always in the gable end, was entered via the hall (entrance vestibule) or 'dům', with a chamber on the opposite side and a 'black' (open-fire) kitchen opposite the hall. The dwelling section was usually followed by the 'maštal' (stable for cattle and horses), with a pigsty for sheep, pigs and poultry on the opposite side of the yard, a shed, and a barn at the far end of the yard as far away as possible. Recorded in the Slatina land register in 1732 are 10 farms: Kopáčkovský, Dvořákovský, Krůtovský, Vaněčkovský, Rodinovský, Vyšohradovský, Zíkovský (or Řehnovský), Hejtmánkovský, Fialovský, Smetanovský. Plus 9 cottages: Stochlebovská, Křížovská, Sahanovská, Novákovská, Šimůnkovská, Slonovská, Strakovská, Jankovská and Adámkovská.

In 1732 wooden buildings still predominated in Slatina. All farms and cottages had wooden living rooms, except for the Dvořákovský and Fialovský farms. The halls ('dům'), through which one entered, were wooden at the Krůtovský, Rodinovský and Hejtmánkovský farms; the rest were stone. The same applied to the chambers. The stables were all stone; barns and sheds were all wooden. Only the Krůtovský, Vaněčkovský and Smetanovský farms had granaries (stone); other farmers stored grain in chambers. Cellars existed only at the Krůtovský, Vaněčkovský and Smetanovský farms. All yards were surrounded by stone walls, and it is also noted that the roofing (thatch) was in good condition on all buildings.

As for the cottagers, there were no differences between their cottages. The layout of their homes was: living room, hall, kitchen, chamber; and of farm buildings they had only a small pigsty and a small barn, mostly attached to the dwelling section. The cottagers' buildings were not enclosed, and all buildings, both residential and farm, were of wood only.

From this it follows that the character of the village was as follows: of a total of 19 living rooms, 17 were wooden; of 19 halls ('dům' or entrance vestibules), 12 were wooden; of 19 kitchens, 10 were wooden (the Hejtmánkovský farm had two chambers); all 9 stables were stone; of 16 cowsheds, 11 were wooden; all 16 barns were wooden; all 6 sheds were also wooden; there were 2 stone granaries and 3 stone cellars. The character of the village was therefore predominantly wooden.

Václav Ferdinand Kunaš forcibly merged both halves of Slatina into one unit in 1731. In time, however, the Křítkovský farm was restored and newly built. The fields that had been dispersed among the cottagers and smallholders were partly returned to it. The Dvořákovský farm was later divided among five cottagers. It is somewhat surprising that Kunaš did not burden his serfs heavily with labour obligations. While on other estates farmers had to perform three days of draught labour per week, in Slatina it was one and a half days with a pair of oxen.

The Kunaš family were great patrons of church buildings in their area. For example, in 1709 the orphaned children of the deceased Václav Lev donated a silver chalice, various vestments and other items to the Kadov church. Václav Ferdinand Kunaš had a side altar of St. Wenceslas built at his own expense in the Chanovice church; his widow Ana Františka endowed various items to the churches of Kadov and Záboří.

After the death of Václav Ferdinand Kunaš in 1736, his surviving wife Ana Františka took over Slatina and upon their coming of age handed it over to her sons Jan Josef and Jan Arnošt. At the time of their father's death, Josef was five and Arnošt two; they came of age at 21, so they took over the estate around 1755. On 8 November 1762 the Kunaš brothers, with their mother's consent, sold the Slatina estate for 21,000 guilders and 100 ducats of 'key money' to Count Jan Sweerts-Sporck, lord of Lnáře, who added it to his large Lnáře domain. The Lnáře domain comprised 34 villages with 577 homesteads and 13 manorial courts. The estate had a total of 16,464 strychy of land and an annual income from serfs of 16,892 guilders in taxes and dues. The estate was also renowned for its 365 fishponds — it was said that a different pond could be fished every day of the year.

We now return to the seat of the Kunaš knights in Slatina. In connection with the baptism of his last five children, baptised in the Slatina Chapel of St. Wenceslas, we mentioned that Ferdinand Kunaš built a new noble seat around 1724. In the Liber memorabilium parochia Cadovensis (Memorial Book of the Kadov Parish) a very valuable description of this seat has been preserved.

The Slatina Chateau

'The old chateau' — that is what the Kadov parish priest and historian Pavel Hille calls the Slatina noble seat of the Kunaš family. The former chateau, which still stood in 1811, was later converted into a granary. The chateau stood a little further away than the present residential building, with an enclosed garden in front of it.

The chateau was built of stone, roofed with wooden shingles, with a small wooden tower projecting from the roof structure in which hung two bells. Inside the building there were several small rooms with the necessary furnishings. There was the lord's office, in which were kept books and documents relating to the estate (extracts, receipts, accounts, demesne and rustical books and the 1732 urbarium, etc.). The chateau also contained a chapel with an altar of St. Wenceslas and statues of St. Anthony and St. John of Nepomuk. On the altar stood a small tabernacle, 2 pewter candlesticks, 3 pewter cruets with a paten, 2 red cushions for the book. The chapel also had a silver chalice with a gilded paten, a corporal, a chalice veil, a new missal, several vestments and other Mass items (according to the Kadov parish memorial book). The chapel walls were adorned with paintings of biblical scenes. Kunaš had Mass celebrated in the chapel and did so on Sundays too, without the permission of the consistory.

The chateau also had a brewery, which stood at the site of house no. 35 'U Zoubků'. As late as 1760 the inventory records that the brewery had one small brewing copper and two dilapidated tuns. The brewery also included a distillery that produced spirits from brewery mash. The farm also had a so-called 'flusárna' (potash works), where potash was produced by boiling wood ash. One of the serfs' obligations was the compulsory annual delivery of two strychy of ash to this potash works.

The Manorial Court

What the original manorial court looked like before the great fire of 1883, which destroyed the entire 'old court', is again described in the Kadov parish memorial book. The description of the court is from 1762, i.e. from the last years of Kunaš ownership. In the court stood the farmhands' quarters, where coachmen, ox-drivers, cowherds, herdsmen and maids — that is, the permanent employees of the court — lived. Of farm buildings there were a horse stable and cow stable with a dairy cellar, barns for storing harvested grain, and sheds for wagons and equipment. On the sheep barn, after the Chapel of St. Wenceslas was demolished, a small tower was erected on which was placed the bell taken from the chapel. It was rung in the morning, at noon and in the evening. The large stone granary had a ground floor and two upper floors, on which threshed grain was stored. The pigsties stood near the entrance gates, with four doors leading into them. The court was enclosed by stone walls and had three entrance drives, one of which led to a large adjacent orchard with more than 500 fruit trees; adjoining the orchard was a large vegetable garden, and by the chateau a small garden.

In 1762 the farm kept 27 head of cattle, including 14 cows, 4 pairs of oxen, 80 sheep and 15 pigs. A total of 270 strychy of arable land were sown, of which 5 strychy with wheat, 65 with rye and 200 with spring grain, peas and lentils. From the meadows 44 cartloads of hay were harvested. The farm also comprised 72 strychy of woodland and forest.

An integral part of every manorial court's operations was fishpond management. Fish farming was a very profitable economic activity until the mid-19th century. After this period, when the price of fish fell rapidly, a large number of fishponds were converted into meadows, which provided sufficient fodder for the sheep farming that was becoming economically more advantageous.

After the fire of 1883 the Slatina court was rebuilt, with a large part of the farm buildings for livestock, barns and sheds erected on the foundations of the burned structures. The building of the former chateau, which had served for years as a granary, and the old granary with its 'loch' (underground cellar), which stood to the right of today's entrance to the court, were demolished. The new court buildings were designed by Josef Kába, a Plzeň builder, invited by Eduard knight Daubek, the owner of the Chanovice estate (to which Slatina belonged), to carry out the construction. The basic architectural form of the court has been preserved to this day, altered only by various extensions and minor modifications made in later years when the court, following land reform, passed into private ownership and later into the use of the Slatina agricultural cooperative.

If today we enter the grounds of this court and, with a little imagination, look at these beautiful old buildings and picture them clad in the brick-white-ochre rendering that once adorned them, we have before us the splendour of the high Baroque as it once graced the imposing Slatina manorial court.

Slatina as Part of the Lnáře Domain

Brothers Jan Josef and Jan Arnošt Kunaš of Machovice sold Slatina in 1762 for 21,000 guilders to the holder of the Lnáře domain, Jan František Kristián, Count Sweerts-Sporck. The Sweerts-Sporck family made a significant contribution to the economic and spiritual development of their domain and paid particular attention to the development of education. Among other things, they had the Kadov church rebuilt in 1765 into its present Baroque form. A rather unhappy episode is also connected with this period.

The Peasant Uprising on the Lnáře Domain

In 1771 a great shortage and dearth struck Bohemia due to a poor harvest. People suffered from hunger and ate wild plants and tree bark. Famine brought plague, which raged terribly and depopulated towns and countryside alike. Peasant uprisings broke out in Bohemia, also triggered by a self-proclaimed interpretation of an edict issued that year by Emperor Joseph II concerning the reduction of serf labour obligations. People mistakenly believed that the labour duties had been abolished and that the lords were preventing this. Various self-appointed leaders placed themselves at the head of the rebels, who began to occupy noble seats. On 1 June 1771 the Písek district captain Lipovský of Lipovice was summoned to Lnáře to explain the meaning of the planned reforms to the farmers. Led and incited by their leader, the farmer Haraburdа of Lažánky, labourers gathered in Lnáře from the entire surrounding area. They filled the square in front of the castle and rioted. They were invited to enter the castle courtyard but, distrusting the lords, refused and demanded to be addressed outside. In the meantime troops arrived from Blatná, divided into three cordons and began to push the crowd towards the castle. Although the farmers were unarmed, they refused to yield. In the crush, the railing at the castle moat gave way and many farmers fell into it. Some paid with their lives, among them the Slatina village judge and one farmer from Chanovice; many were wounded. Arrests followed and fifteen rebels were imprisoned in Horažďovice. People stopped trusting the commission and fled from villages into forests, hiding places and onto other estates, which duly returned them. In the empty villages soldiers looted and hunted people through the surrounding countryside. This manhunt lasted eight weeks. Then, hungry and wretched, the people returned of their own accord — but a harsh punishment awaited them. Whether caught or surrendering voluntarily, they were mercilessly flogged with iron whips covered in cowhide and fitted with a small ball. Each person also received a note by which he undertook not only to resume labour duties but also to compensate for what had been missed. A reduction in labour obligations did not come until 1775, when Empress Maria Theresa issued a patent reducing the labour duty by almost half.

Labour Obligations of the Slatina Serfs in 1762

According to the urbarium, farmers paid a total of 15 guilders and 5 kreuzer in land tax. In addition, each farmer had to perform one and a half days of so-called draught labour per week — that is, to work with a pair of oxen — and beyond that to perform 6 days of 'foot' or hand labour per year. Furthermore, he had to spin three 'bobbins' of flax or instead pay 21 kreuzer.
Cottagers were required, in the period from St. George's Day to St. Wenceslas' Day, to perform 6 days of hand labour (excluding Sundays and feast days) and to spin six bobbins of flax.

The annual rent paid by the innkeeper was 15 guilders, the miller 15 guilders and the blacksmith 6 guilders.
Jews, of whom 14 families lived in Slatina, paid a total of 85 guilders per year. The Jew who ran the salt trade in the village paid 45 kreuzer for each prostice (= 56 kg) sold.

In addition, the serfs paid the parish priest tithes in grain and 'iron cow' payments; 13 farmers paid the teacher the so-called 'sheaf due', a total of 30 sheaves of rye.

After Jan František Kristián, Count Sweerts-Sporck, the Lnáře domain including Slatina was inherited by his son Josef, who however died on 6 January 1802. The estate was administered on behalf of the underage heirs by Jan Prokop Hartmann, Count of Karlštejn, until St. Adalbert's Day 1803, when Count Leopold Thun, a secularised Prince of Passau, purchased the estate for 1,350,000 Rhine guilders. Count Thun held the estate for only one year — he did not like living among Bohemians. On 27 August 1804 he therefore sold the entire estate for 1,580,000 guilders and 4,000 guilders of 'key money' to the free lord Jan František Lunckner of Lutzewircku. He retained the entire estate except Slatina, which on 20 February 1811 he sold for 21,000 guilders and 1,000 guilders of 'key money' to the Plzeň burgher Franz Becher.

Slatina as Part of the Chanovice Estate

Franz Becher already held the Chanovice estate, which comprised the villages of Chanovice, Újezd and Nová Ves. In all villages the manorial courts were partly managed directly and sometimes leased. Becher proved to be an outstanding farmer and in a short time significantly improved the economic results of the entire estate. After his father's death, the estate was inherited in spring 1838 by his son Franz Gustav Becher, who later acquired the title of free lord. He followed in his father's footsteps, introducing progressive farming methods not only in agriculture but also in forestry.

On 1 August 1871 Franz Gustav, Free Lord Becher, sold the estate for 135,000 guilders of Austrian currency to JUDr. Eduard Daubek. He also separately sold the Slatina court for 30,000 guilders. After his father's death the estate was inherited by Eduard knight Daubek. Knight Daubek was a great art patron and also became the 'discoverer' of the Czech painter František Bohumil Doubek (the similarity of the surnames Doubek and Daubek is purely coincidental). For the Slatina village chapel knight Daubek had a bell cast and also donated a painting of St. Edward (possibly a work by František B. Doubek). On 19 August 1889 knight Daubek sold the Chanovice large estate and purchased the castle and estate of Osek near Strakonice.

The new owner became Isidor Schmiedl, a large estate owner from Vísky near Horní Bříza and owner of the Horní Bříza kaolin mines. He purchased Chanovice and Slatina together for 180,000 guilders. The Slatina court was leased from 1902 and several tenants succeeded one another — let us name František Polánka of Kozlov, his son Václav Polánka of Brus, and Vojtěch Doubravský. Isidor Schmiedl died on 24 November 1900 and the estate was managed by his widow Pavlína, née Marešová, until her own death in 1910. That same year the estate passed by inheritance to her daughter Anna, married to Pavel knight Goldegg-Lindenburg, Imperial-Royal chamberlain and cavalry captain of a cavalry regiment in Hungary.

Anna of Goldegg-Lindenburg died on 13 September 1938 and the surviving children became co-owners of the estate: František Baron Goldegg, Ferdinand Baron Goldegg, Dr. Jiří Baron Goldegg and Elisabeth Heintschel (née Goldegg). The management of the property was entrusted to the graduate agronomist František Baron Goldegg, until May 1945 when he was shot in Chanovice. By presidential decree of December 1945 the Goldegg property was confiscated and forfeited to the Czechoslovak state.

During the land reform of 1947 the Slatina court, its buildings and land were parcelled out among small farmers. However, these farmers did not enjoy their newly acquired property for long. The relentlessly advancing collectivisation of the entire countryside resulted in the founding of a unified agricultural cooperative, into which the farmers were compelled to contribute their fields and the buildings of the former manorial court for communal use. Until recently the buildings served the communal cooperative farming operation. After 1989, based on the restitution law, they were returned to their original owners.