Journey into the history
Content
Introduction
Štramberk castle
The “Trúba” tower
The hikers take over the Tower
The restoration of the Tower
New hikers’ chalet at the Tower
Celebrations at the Tower
A distinguished visitor to the Tower
Reconstruction of the chalet
Dr Hrstka’s cottage
Tower – roof repairs
Kotouč hill
The gingerbread house on Kotouč
The Šipka cave
Sláma’s cave
The 86th Branch of the Masaryk Aviation League
A new building at the Tower?
Welcome to this exciting journey into the memory of the Štramberk Tower – a journey that will reveal many of Štramberk’s deepest secrets, stored away in the Tower’s memory for over seven centuries as it quietly watches over the town below… Travel with us on this journey of discovery to find out more about the fascinating places, people, events and stories that make Štramberk unique.
Tomáš Harabiš
Štramberk castle
In the 12 and 13th centuries, our region marked the border between the Czech and Polish lands – so more than any other part of Moravia or Silesia, it was a favourite target for invaders and looting raids. Many castles and fortresses were built to help protect the local people and their property.
Nobody knows for sure who actually built the castle here in Štramberk, but we do know that it existed long before it was first mentioned in a document dated 4 December 1359.
The “Trúba” tower
The Štramberk Tower (known in Czech as the “Trúba”, meaning “tube”) has stood here since the reign of the medieval Czech King Otakar II (1253–1278), so it’s no surprise that it has had a rich and dramatic history. Around 150 years ago, a Štramberk carpenter called Josef Kopeček built two basic timber shacks below the Tower, as an inn and a skittle alley. He then built a wooden staircase leading up to a platform on the Tower which offered stunning views of the town, nestling in its picturesque valley, and the great Silesian and Moravian plains in the distance.
The hikers take over the Tower
In 1895 several hiking enthusiasts – led by the Štramberk doctor Adolf Hrstka – founded a local branch of the Czech Tourist Club, a national association of hikers. The branch members were determined to save the historic Tower and the Kotouč quarry (an important archeological site), and so they asked the owner of the sites – the Theresian Academy – for permission to open the ruined Tower and the quarry to visitors. The negotiations were difficult and dragged on for several years, but eventually Dr Vladimír Pražák and the Academy’s curator Baron Gautsch agreed that the sites could be placed in the care of the hikers. A contract transferring the Tower and the quarry to the local branch of the Czech Tourist Club was signed in 1900.
The restoration of the Tower
With the Tower now under its care, the Štramberk branch of the Czech Tourist Club now had the green light to carry out building work and convert it into a viewing tower for visitors. After several false starts, the plans were eventually drawn up by the architect Kamil Hilbert. The work was done by the building contractor Bedřich Karlseder, a wealthy businessman from the nearby town of Příbor. Although the structure was very tricky to build, Karlseder’s firm did an outstanding job.
As long ago as 1904, it was deemed necessary to build a covered shelter for visitors and hikers. To minimize costs, a simple timber-framed and wood-tiled ‘veranda’ was built. Unfortunately, this structure was destroyed by a spring storm in 1907, when powerful winds carried it away and scattered its debris all over the hillside.
New hikers’ chalet at the Tower
“U Mědínků” hikers’ chalet (1906–1925)
The members of the local hikers’ club were determined that they would not be defeated by the elements, and so the Ostrava architect Josef Pokorný – working free of charge – took just three months to draw up plans for a new shelter, also to be made of wood. The building took a further three months to complete, with the architect supervising a team of workers from the Kopřivnice railway works (who were on strike at the time). The structure cost one thousand gulden, and was named the ‘Mědínek’ shelter after an inn frequented by the Czech Renaissance writer Mikuláš Dačický of Heslov, who led a very colourful life and was a popular, almost legendary figure.
Celebrations at the Tower
18–19 August 1906 – celebrations to mark the opening of the new hikers’ chalet „U Mědínků“
Two months after the opening of the hikers’ chalet at the Tower, Štramberk castle hosted a grand celebration, described by a local reporter: “On 18 and 19 August 1906 there were two wonderful days of celebration at the Štramberk Tower. The local branch of the Czech Tourist Club ceremonially opened the new chalet and named it “U Mědínků” after a favourite inn of the 16th-century Czech nobleman Mikuláš Dačický – well known for his wild lifestyle and drinking exploits. Dačický once stopped at the Štramberk castle on his journey back from Hungary – refreshing himself very thoroughly, as was his custom. In fact, he visited all of the local lords in the area – the Žerotíns, the Chorynskýs and the Petřvaldskýs, stopping at Valašské Meziříčí, Starý Jičín, Trnávka, Petřvald and of course Štramberk. So the chalet is also known as the “Dačický chalet”, in honour of this great adventurer and bon-vivant.
Everybody was dressed in historical costumes – it was like travelling back to Dačický’s time. On the Saturday evening there was music, singing, poetry… Dr Hrstka greatly enjoyed planning the celebrations, imagining the magic of history brought to life in Štramberk’s narrow winding streets.”
Celebrations at the Tower
18–19 August 1906 – celebrations to mark the opening of the new hikers’ chalet
Soon the town was full of posters inviting people to the grand historical celebration. The sky on Sunday morning was bright and clear, the red and white flags (the historical Czech national colours) fluttered from the platform of the Tower. After lunch, people went out and found a place where they would have a good view of proceedings. Just after two o’clock the band started to play, and the procession began. The townspeople and visitors lined the streets and feasted their eyes on the wonderfully bright, colourful costumes – and eventually everybody joined in and walked up to the Tower. As the vanguard of the procession neared the Tower, the trumpeters played a fanfare to welcome them. Every guest was made to feel very welcome, and the troubadours began to sing… The guests rested under the ash tree or the pine trees and quenched their thirst with the local beer, just like Dačický had done so many centuries before. And as the amber nectar flowed and flowed, the townsfolk celebrated in true medieval style to the accompaniment of the troubadours…
A distinguished visitor to the Tower
After the First World War, in October 1918, Czechoslovakia finally gained its long-awaited independence. To celebrate, Dr Hrstka decided to invite the famous French General Fillipe to the Tower, accompanied by his wife and entourage. A grand French-style breakfast was served by girls dressed in traditional Moravian costumes. The celebration was joyful, with wine and good cheer. Dr Hrstka was enchanting as always. Although he was not a smoker, he even accepted the General’s gift of a cigarette.
Reconstruction of the chalet
As tourist numbers grew, the old shelter – damaged by exposure to the elements, and in a poor state of repair – was no longer adequate for their needs. In 1924, the local branch of the hiking club decided to renovate the shelter during the winter months, extending it and installing furniture. The new building, designed by the painter Bohumír Jaroněk in a style inspired by local folk art and crafts, was opened to the public in 1925.
Dr Hrstka’s cottage
In 1925 the Štramberk branch of the Czech Tourist Club – a hikers’ organization – celebrated 30 years of activity. To mark the occasion, local members opened two buildings – the restored ‘Jaroněk’s shelter’ below the castle tower (named in honour of its designer Bohumír Jaroněk) and the newly built ‘Rašín cottage’ (now known as Dr Hrstka’s cottage).
Building work on the cottage began in the early spring of 1925 to plans by the architect František Grossman, with construction supervised by the builder J. Gregor from Zubří. The cottage was opened to the public on 1 August, when it was presented to the local branch of the Tourist Club. On the ground floor there were 2 communal bunkrooms with space for 14 people – one for 10 men, and the other for 4 women. On the upper floor – with access via an outside veranda – there were 4 rooms containing 12 beds in total. In 1928 several alterations were made to the surrounding area, with the castle walls modified to create a courtyard where the owners of cars or motorcycles could park their vehicles. After the Second World War the cottage was renamed in honour of the doctor and local historian Dr Adolf Hrstka.
Tower – roof repairs
This photo, taken on 19 July 1958, shows the repair of the Tower’s roof, which lasted from 7 July to 31 October. On 14 August 1958 red warning lights were installed at the top of the Tower as a navigational aid to jet planes on night manoeuvres. A new chronicle document was written and stored in the Tower’s cupola to be read by future generations, in preparation for Štramberk’s celebrations of 600 years since officially becoming a town (1959).
Kotouč hill
Kotouč is a Jurassic limestone/sandstone hill with its summit now 517 metres above sea level (formerly 539 m, before quarrying removed the top part). A castle used to stand on the western side of a hill near a 3–10 metre-high rock wall. Together with Radhošť, Praděd and Hostýn, Kotouč is one of a quartet of mythical Moravian hills – sacred places associated with many legends. The hill took its name from a wizard called Kotouč, the central figure in one of these traditional legends. For many millennia Kotouč was a natural economic and cultural centre for the surrounding region. In the early Middle Ages the main settlement moved to the nearby Zámecký (“castle”) hill, but Kotouč remained an important strategic site, with a watchtower dating from the mid-12th century and two small fortresses from the mid-13th century guarding the area. It was also an important religious site. When the industrial revolution came to Štramberk, Kotouč was transformed. The Guttmann brothers opened a limestone quarry on the hill in 1880, and quarrying began on the southern slope during the following year. In 1885 A. Schindler opened a lime kiln nearby, and a new chapter in Kotouč’s history was launched.
The gingerbread house on Kotouč
On 10 May 1923 a traditional Wallachian-style restaurant known as the “Gingerbread House” was opened on Kotouč hill, thanks mainly to the efforts of the local hiking club and its chairman Dr Adolf Hrstka. Between the two world wars the restaurant was a popular destination for travellers from near and far, and it remained so after the Second World War. However, in the early 1950s the restaurant was closed down so the building could be used as a dynamite store for the quarry. By 1956 the quarrying had come perilously close, and in October the former restaurant’s owners were informed that it would have to be moved in order to save it from destruction. Unfortunately this beautiful building was not preserved, and it fell victim to the quarrying soon after.
The Šipka cave
The Šipka cave is the best-known karst formation in the Štramberk area. In 1880 Karel Jaroslav Maška, a schoolteacher and archeologist from Nový Jičín, found the lower jaw of a Neanderthal child aged between 8 and 10 years in a rock alcove in the oldest inhabited part of the cave formation, on the edge of an area that had been used as a fireplace in prehistoric times. This amazing find – just 24 years after the discovery of a skull and bones in the German Neanderthal valley – made Štramberk famous all over the world. Maška had already found a set of bronze items from the Late Bronze Age, and in 1880 he also discovered the Šipka cave. His research and archeological finds proved that the cave had been inhabited alternately by prehistoric hunters and large predatory animals.
Archeological digging found around 80 thousand bones and teeth in the sediments on the cave floor, from various animals. The most recognizable pieces belonged to a bear, which evidently used the cave as its den. Other animals whose remains were found at the site included cave-dwelling lions, hyenas, woolly rhinoceros, mammoths, bison, aurochs, muskoxen, leopards, wolverines, reindeer, and elk. Remains of 130 different animal species were found in the cave.
Sláma’s cave
This cave was formed by natural gravitational processes in the limestone massif below Dr Hrstka’s chalet. The tunnels in this type of cave are narrow, tall and regularly shaped. At a depth of around 40 metres below ground, small stalagmites and stalactites can be seen. With a depth of 51 metres, this is the second deepest fissure cave in the Czech Republic (after Kněhyně at 57.5 metres).
The cave was found when digging the foundations for Dr Hrstka’s chalet on 20 November 1924. It was named in honour of the Czech writer and patriot Dr František Sláma, whose stories and novels set in Štramberk often feature the mysterious network of tunnels and caverns under the town’s castle.
The 86th Branch of the Masaryk Aviation League
Shortly after the First World War, in 1922, some citizens from the neighbouring town of Kopřivnice began to explore the ground-breaking new technology of aviation. However, it was not until 16 August 1934 that the inaugural session of the Masaryk Aviation League (named in honour of Czechoslovakia’s president) was held in Kopřivnice.
By 1937, the local branch had welcomed its first members from Štramberk, who built their own glider named “Scout”. Eyewitnesses remember the glider being launched mainly from the Bílá Hora hill, attached to a strong rubber cord fixed to a tree. Sometimes the craft failed to leave the ground, and other times it had to endure crash landings – often in the middle of the surrounding forests. The Štramberk aviators gave a display at the opening ceremony for the town’s new outdoor swimming pool on 21 August 1938. The posters for the event reveal that the glider was exhibited to the public in the town’s square at 8 o’clock on the morning of Sunday 21 August, and at 11 o’clock it was ceremonially “christened”, before taking to the skies…
A new building at the Tower?
Over a century ago, representatives of the local hiking club met with the architect Kamil Hilbert to discuss the possibility of constructing a new building at the site. The building was to be used as an inn, bunkrooms for students and hikers, and a museum exhibition. The authorities in Vienna approved Hilbert’s submitted plans, but recommended that the new structure should not be built.
In 2009 the town of Štramberk entered the Tower for the prestigious Petr Parléř Awards – a competition to find the most interesting designs for public spaces and public buildings in Czech towns and cities (including interior designs). The design – by the architects Kamil Mrva and Martin Rosa – earned the award for the best contribution to urban development. The panel of judges praised the design’s sensitive approach to its historic surroundings, retaining the original chalet and adding a new structure in a contemporary style. However, many people in Štramberk feel that the proposed new building will represent a major change to the historic site, which they would prefer to preserve in its current form.
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