Rožnov pod Radhoštěm Wallachian Open Air Museum
In 1925 the first part of the Wallachian Open Air Museum of national cultural heritage was opened in the city park in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm thanks to the Jaroňek brothers, enthusiastic admirers of local folk culture.
The original collection of folk architecture in the Wallachian Museum is constantly being updated and currently includes about 85 objects from Wallachia and northeastern Moravia, including interiors, collections and art objects from these regions.
The area is divided to original parts – the oldest and most visited of which is the Wallachian museum’s wooden town, which presents a way of life in a small town in the middle of the 19th century to the first quarter of the twentieth century.
The Wallachian Village is the largest area, comprising farmhouses and shepherds’ buildings. A mill and blacksmith’s shop are located in a landscape typical of the many villages on the slopes of Beskydy Mountains. The newest area is the Mill Valley, opened in 1982, where visitors can see the water-driven forge hammer, fulling mill, flour mill, saw mill and oil press.
Among the widely attended events held at the museum are the Roznovska festivals and Wallachian fairs and individual parts of the area host different events: blacksmith meetings, fishing days, “Village Christmas”, reviving old farming methods and others. Throughout the year, traditional folklore shows are held in the museum and performed by folk art groups and authentic artists.
Hello, my name is David Heilman and I am a beekeeper who has a passion for beekeeping history. I work for The Ohio State University at an agricultural research campus (OARDC) and am the curator of a small beekeeping museum there. I am always doing research about beekeeping’s past from around the world and putting together new exhibits. I am very interested in your Log bee hives with the carved faces. Is there a way I can get some more pictures of them with some close up photos? What other wonderful beekeeping items/exhibits do you have? I would love to learn more about your country’s rich beekeeping heritage. I thank you so very much for taking the time to read and respond to my request.
Yours kindly, David
Hello David,
Thank you for your message. I have had a look online for better photos for you – the ones you saw are the only ones I have personally. Here are some links to the best of what I found, all in Czech, I’m afraid but translation engines are getting better at Czech! Beekeeping is very popular here, I often see hives when I go out walking. We are at the foot of the western end of the Carpathian Mountains, so there are a lot of pastures, meadows and mixed forest here. The honey tastes wonderful!
From the website of the museum where I took the pictures.
Log and board hives NOTE: The Czech words for ‘tribe’ and ‘tree trunk’ are the same. This confuses Google!
This site invites you to email them in English They seem to be a group of beekeeping enthusiasts raising awareness and running educational programs. Perhaps they can send you better information, as you would both speak the language of beekeeping!
Let me know if I can help in any other way. The people of this region have been good to me since I arrived, so my vague aim with this site is to let the rest of the world know that they exist and welcome visitors.
Best regards,
Jeff Short
Jeff,
Thank you so very much for your helpful reply. I will eagerly check out what you have sent. Keep up the good work and if there is anything I might be able to help you with please let me know.