Historian Zdeněk Zahradník: When you hold an old book in your hand and you can get it with it, it's beautiful

The town of Hradec Králové also presented their awards to people who are exceptional in their fields.Last year, Historian and conservationist Zdeněk Zahradník from the Department of Auxiliary Sciences of the Historical and Archives of the Faculty of Arts of Hradec Králové and, by the way.

Congratulations on the award you have received from the city.Thank you.The award was a special constellation that is on the border for a lifelong work and in memoriam.It came 10 years after I left Hradec Králové, so it is certainly an interesting thing for a vain guy.

You were born in Rychnov nad Kněžnou.But how was it with your love for history, history and monuments?Where did it come from? I was lucky to go to the grammar school to Rychnov nad Kněžnou, although it was in stupid years, at 70.years of the last century, but there were wonderful teachers and professors.I hit there by Professor Tesar, which was a special person.Taught Russian but after 1968 it was very special.But most of us could inspire for Russian language and especially for Russian literature.And that was one of the impulses that led me all my life.Then I got into contact with Professor Tydlitate, a history teacher.Both were connected to me that I was interested in it, I started to do it and then I went to study it for college.

And then you also worked in the Hradec Museum.Before I went to study because I wasn't admitted for the first time, I joined the State Regional Archive in Zámrsk for a year, which was an amazing experience.The young beginning boy got to a lot of old papers that are not always accessible to all researchers.Then I graduated and because I could no longer return to Zámrsk for some reasons, although I liked it there, the work of the archivist, so I joined the Museum in Hradec Králové as a methodologist for the chronicle.As a stand -in.

Recall how it was with the Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové at that time?At that time it was a regional institution? By 1989/90 we were the Regional Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové.And we had two workplaces, one here Hradec Králové and the other was integrated in 70.years, Pardubice workplace.Then a separate museum.In 1990, as part of the post -revolutionary ferment, all regional institutions, regional breweries, regional industry, regional dairy undertakings, and the resolution said that the Regional Museum of the Eastern Museum was also abolished by all regional institutions.Guild.So we de facto for a few days, maybe weeks, disappeared.

But then it was renewed, mainly thanks to the profile.Preclík who, as a deputy of the Czech National Council, helped us.And we divided, the Pardubice Museum was independent, became the East Bohemian Museum.And Hradec Králové cut only the regional and was the Museum of East Bohemia.

How do you remember that time? It was a revolutionary time that it is nice to remember today, but some things were to be unbelievable that could have been made at that time.We were lucky in misfortune.We had one workplace in the inn at the Svagons, but there was a need to solve the spatial situation.And then the city management led me to the ruins of the tapery barracks, today the gayer barracks, showed me the object and said: Director, do you want it?It was a house where the windows were missing where the soldiers were slowly carried some of the last items of the equipment, and I was groping a little, so they said to me: We'll add 200,000 to the roof.And me, because I was young and stupid, so I nodded on it.And there was a workplace that now serves as a background for the museum.And after many years has undergone a major reconstruction.

What does Dr. Doctor employ you today?What do you do with? I have a huge advantage in retirement but I have a lot of beautiful works that I can do at the moment.I am partly involved at the Department at the University of Hradec Králové, where I am an example that who does not know it teaches it.After I left the museum, I started to teach an introduction to museums and I teach the entry into librarianship.To do this, I gained a few years ago the Episcopal Library of the Hradec Králové bishopric, which is an amazing library that will celebrate a large, round and significant anniversary this year.It is the oldest library in Hradec Králové with a collection of rare books and incarnations.I work partly for the Náchod Museum, where we are preparing a film for the upcoming exhibition in Dobrošov, such a documentary about the creation of that fortification.I did not originally take into account that it was the construction of a military character, ie quite a lot of classified.I thought there would be a lot of documentary shots, but today we have a little problem we're firming from.

And while working at the university you had the opportunity to visit another amazing library in our region, which is the Benedictine Library of the Broumov Monastery.It was such a icing on the cake.When you imagine that you have been doing something all your life and at the end of a professional career someone will offer you the opportunity to participate in the research project of Benedictine libraries, it was the Broumov library and at the same time Rajhradská.We were doing the Broumov and we were very lucky with one colleague that we discovered the oldest library catalogs from the end of 18.century, until then unknown catalogs.And the view of the library has opened up.Moreover, it was a beautiful job with a wonderful team of people, both academics and students.Unfortunately the grant ended, we would still need at least the students there for some time to complete the accurate catalog of the fund.But it was beautiful work, for me and interesting in that I could then make it an exhibition that was repeated in Broumov and then in Police nad Metuji.And managed to make a nice film about the Broumov library.

How is it feeling, holding such an ancient book in hand? It's interesting.When you go to school and learn about the oldest prints, about the Bibles and so on, and suddenly you hold the press from 1480 in your hand and you can polask with it, it is really a wonderful feeling.I am very grateful for the fate that I did this.

We have forgotten the theater because you are also a big and enthusiastic amateur.I am a member of a file that works in Dobruška.It is such a former student theater, today theater on stepladder.We play occasionally, rather such paradivate things, we do not play classics that we would play Lucerne or Mother.Rather we do different performances, I would say.And besides, I am a little dealing with amateur, I will say unprofessional theater, in terms of phenomenon.Because the amateur theater is a wonderful thing, I experienced it personally at 80.years, there is a huge space to tell people basically what you want.Therefore, I devote myself to the history of amateur theater.And in Dobruška we have published a book about the history of the local amateur theater that covers the whole period from the oldest speeches to the present.Nice job.

You can listen to the whole interview with historian Zdeněk Zahradník in our audioarchive.