Česky
The exhibition will be open to the public at the Hořovice Chateau from 18 December to 14 January, including guided tours, which will be given by the Chief Medical Officer himself. You can find an overview of the exhibition on the Chateau's website.
The headmaster is a long-time collector of wooden, hand-carved nativity scenes. He now has over 150 pieces in his collection. In addition to wooden, hand-carved nativity scenes, his collection also includes small, paper nativity scenes to which he has a personal and emotional connection. Most of them were given to him by friends, patients or brought back from holidays. "The collection that visitors will see at the Hořovice castle is one of the most important private collections of cribs in the country. Many of them are known as royal cribs, but you will also see church or art deco cribs. Most of them are related to the Giant Mountains. The production started in Králíky and from there it later spread throughout the Krkonoše," explains MUDr. Martin Šmakal.
The oldest nativity scene on display dates back to 1791. A few years before that, Joseph II banned the display of nativity scenes in churches. He found crib figures in churches strange and undignified. But people liked the nativity scenes and they were a part of Christmas by that time, so they started to make and build them at home. All the other nativity scenes on display in the castle are about a hundred years younger.
When asked how and when he started collecting cribs, the headmaster replies as follows. "About twenty years ago I found a box with an original Krkonoše crib in the attic of our old cottage in the Krkonoše Mountains. Surprisingly, it was not that damaged for its age, so we took it to the family at the first Christmas. And since I have two sons, I had the idea to get them such old, traditional nativity scenes that they could also have as a family heirloom. And that's how it all started. Neighbours from the foothills of the Giant Mountains willingly began to offer me their old family cribs that they found in their attics and cellars. And since they were often not in a presentable condition, they started to help me with their restoration," explains the chief physician.
Today, he has so many cribs that his collection does not even fit into the barn at his cottage, which he has gradually converted into a museum. "In the village of Horní Tříč, the museum is always open when my family and I are at the cottage. I am always happy to give a personal tour to anyone interested in my collection. The entrance fee used to be symbolically 1kč after this year's inflation I had to increase the entrance fee to two crowns (laughs). When I am not present at the cottage, my neighbours and friends from the village take my place in the tours," explains Smakal with a smile. His big dream is to have a contemporary nativity scene carved from the Krkonoše village where he has a cottage. With the local firehouse and other typical buildings. And figures that will take the form of several local personalities and patriots who help him with the crib.
This year the exhibition is complemented by beautiful Christmas decorations collected by Alice Bardoňová.
"She's a former antique dealer. But she collected ornaments as a hobby of her own. They are first republic. Some of them come from the Sudetenland and the border area with Germany. We also have beaded ornaments from Poniklá. To make it interesting, I borrowed from the current manufacturers in Poniklá their super modern collection. So on one Christmas tree there will be 100-year-old Ponikle ornaments and on the adjacent tree will hang their modern geometric collection. Five beautiful Krkonoše puppet theatres have also been added. With them, the children used to play theatre at Advent and Christmas when the cottages were covered with metres of snow and they had to stay at home," says Mr Šmakal in conclusion.
