Kalec is a former village in the Plzeň-North District of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, an administrative part of

Žihle Žihle (german: Scheles) is a municipality and village in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. Žihle lies approximately north of Plzeň and west of Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ...

. The village was the site of several important events in the history of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

History

Kalec's origins begin in the 13th century, it was a modest establishment with a bunker, inhabited by families of the low nobility formed during the middle age. Kalecs steps to be a part of the Monastery of

Plasy Plasy (; german: Plass) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is known for its former monastery. Administrative parts Villages of Babina, Horní Hradiště, Lomnička, Neb ...

caused disputes between several feudal entities until 1346. In the 14th century the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

began to acquire properties in this establishment. During the period of the Battle of White Mountain in the 30 Years War against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, Kalec was occupied several times, including by Emperor Frediand II. Evžen Tyttl, in 1710–16, allowed the construction of a mansion in the "baroco" style. A small chapel was built for "Holy Daisy", after much negligence, Abbot Fortunato Hartmann rebuilt and designed the chapel after the Czech Italian architect

Jan Santini Aichel Jan Blažej Santini Aichel (3 February 1677 – 7 December 1723) was a Czech architect of Italian descent, whose major works represent the unique Baroque Gothic style - the special combination of the Baroque and Gothic styles. Biograp ...

's influence. The Inn at Kalec underwent a total rehabilitation and modernization in 1769. In 1785, Kalec, after the approval from the Church, went to the dominions of

Manětín Manětín (; german: Manetin) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,100 inhabitants. The historical town centre and centre of Rabštejn nad Střelou are well preserved and both are protected b ...

and for the beginning of the 19th century it became part of Rabštejn nad Střelou. However, in 1787, the property was acquired by the Lazanský family. Kalec had great relevance during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

due to its location, which is at a crucial part of the Edge of

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ; pl, Sudety; german: Sudeten; cs, Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consis ...

Mountain or

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

. The Sudetenland, along with the Sudetes Mountain was first taken by

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

, after the war it restored by the

Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees, sk, Dekréty prezidenta republiky) and the Constitutional Decrees of the President of the Republic ( cz, Ústavní dekrety presidenta republiky, sk, Ústavné dekréty prezidenta republiky) were a series of laws drafted by t ...

. With the formation of the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

state in 1918, the property was expropriated, and put under an agrarian reform which was put into the hands of a cooperative. In 1934, the property was acquired by Jaroslav Brček an industrialist from

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

. The precise location of the buildings in rhombus, plus the complexity of the wooden structures and the vaulted buildings, constituted substantial reason for the admiration and studying of the students at the time. The most important structure is largely regarded as the castle, which is characterized as having five floors with leaned wings. In 1973, Dvůr Kalec had been declared a National Heritage. At the moment Kalec is having repairs done to the facade. The property is made up on a total of of earth, between fields of culture, meadows, lakes and forests.

References

External links

KalecSundial of KalecSundial of Kalec View from backyardMap of ''Revier Kaletz''
{{authority control Former villages in the Czech Republic Populated places in Plzeň-North District Buildings and structures in the Plzeň Region Former populated places in the Czech Republic Castles in the Plzeň Region