Currently, the city of Žatec received a certificate of inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Intergovernmental World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe Žatec and the Žatec hop landscape two months ago at its meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mayor Radim Laibl (ANO) sees this registration as an opportunity to return his city to its former glory. He stated that, among other things, he had to convince a number of residents of the importance of registration. Interest in the hop landscape is increasing year by year, more tourists visit the information center and the nearby Stekník castle, located in the middle of the hop fields.

The listed monument consists of two parts. The first part consists of a landscape with a hop farm and the villages of Trnovany and Stekník, including the castle. The second part represents the historic center of Žatec with its industrial area from the 19th century, which has the largest concentration of buildings related to hop processing and trade. The two parts are connected by the Ohří river. For the Czech Republic, it is the 17th entry on the list of world natural and cultural heritage. At the same time, it is the first hop growing region in the world to receive this status.

The road to nomination for the prestigious list takes years. This idea was born in the minds of patriots and enthusiasts who wanted to preserve hop monuments for future generations. “The local association Chmelobrana had the idea to save the authenticity of the hop warehouse. In 2007, the town and monuments related to hop processing were included in the Indicative list of the Czech Republic and preparation of its documentation began,” says Jaroslav Špička, director of the Hop and Beer Temple in Žatec.

Chmelobrany representatives were today on the stage of the Žatec theater when Minister of Culture Martin Baxa (ODS) presented the mayor with a certificate. They also carried a banner with a symbol on which there were six vertical lines crossed by one diagonal. “Undoubtedly, this is a great success for the Czech Republic, for our cultural heritage. The requirements have become very strict in recent years. We have managed to set another record, which is rare. Žatec finds itself in the company of Stonehenge or Acropolis,” Baxa said.

According to Governor Jan Schiller (ANO), the registration of Žatec and the hop landscape is a prestigious matter for the Ústí Region. The Ministry of Culture and regions are ready to assist the municipality financially in connection with the registration, which is also welcomed by hop growers.

“For us, this is confirmation of the exceptional quality of the hop crops we grow here. For the brewery, this means that if they choose Žatec semi-early red for their premium brand, they will do the best they can,” Michal Kovařík, secretary of the Czech Hop Growers Association, told ČTK. The majority of hop crops in the Czech Republic are grown in the Žatec region, on 3,744 hectares, which is 77 percent of the total area. “This year’s harvest went well, around 7,000 tons were harvested, 5,500 tons of which came from Žatec hops,” said Kovařík.

Žatci conservationists helped with its registration. “The process takes a long time. When we started thinking about it, there was no cultural heritage area yet. At that time the city was on the rise, many damaged monuments and buildings could be restored. condition,” said Lucie Radová of the ČTK Institute of National Monuments, who appreciated the city’s efforts to help repair owners of buildings that are not protected as monuments.

Žatec was visited by 14,657 people by the end of October this year, compared to 12,695 people last year. 14,197 people came to Stenkík Castle, compared to 11,693 in last year’s tourist season. they had to stand alone behind the bar because the number of guests was shocked. We target tourists coming for a longer period of time. “We have to sit down and decide who can do what in this case,” said Laibl, who said the city has many problems because of business and poverty.

“Currently, they perceive and appreciate UNESCO inscriptions abroad more than at home,” said the Mayor. “We have to show that UNESCO will clearly provide benefits. Together we will fight so that the poverty trade does not exist here. Among other things, we want to buy real estate where people live with social benefits,” said Laibl. The city wants to show entrepreneurs that UNESCO is also an opportunity for them. According to the Mayor, the City Government itself will solve it, for example increasing the number of parking spaces.

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