LOCATIONS — 239/262 — Loretz

Whether Loretz was already standing at the time of our game is not clear, as the first written mention of it dates back to 1418. It’s unlikely that vineyards surrounded the fortress, as they were still a hot novelty in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown at that time, but beer was brewed there. From sources dating back to 1544, we learn that Zdislav Zvířetický of Wartenberg bought the local hop farm with malt house and brewery. In 1593, the production of beer called Kumperské was documented, in 1680 Konvent beer, from 1899 it was Dačický lager and the ‘health beer’ Mincmistr. Loretz Municipal Brewery in Kuttenberg has changed owners several times during its history, but beer has been brewed here, with minor interruptions, to this day.

TRIVIA

— Apart from its beginning as a wooden fortress and its multiple reconstructios (including due to a fire in 1493, and eventually becoming a brewery at least by 1544), the history of the estate of Lorec stays rather opaque. Much more can be said, however, about its many different owners, of which a few stand out. At the time of the fire, the estate (then still a fortress) was owned by Jiří Lorecký of Lkouše. Next to Lorec his family was also in the possession of the fortress and village of Šamonice, near Písek. Before 1571, its lord was Ludvík Lorecký of Lkouše – then him and his two underage sons were murdered on the streets by their subjects for the inhuman conditions Ludvík had imposed on them. The almost heroic poem “The Gentleman From Lkouše” captures this event, though the true tale of the revolting workers ended rather grim: Of the maids, farmhands and cooks involved, each one met a different end, from being burned on the stake to dragged behind a cart and broken on the wheel. Lorec, however, had already ceased being under the family's control by 1520 when Jiří's son Václav committed an offence against the king that led to them being stripped off the property. Following a few more changing owners (including Václav Šárovec from Šárov, the hetman of Chrudim known for his fighting spirit and for getting beheaded in 1537 for insulting the provincial judges), Lorec finally landed in the hands of the Dačickýs of Heslov, the most prominent member of which was likely Mikuláš Dačický. After starting his adulthood in a monastery, 22-year old Mikuláš returned to Kutná Hora in 1577 to devote his life to selling real estate and mining shares, drinking, love affairs and tavern fights, with a few of them ending in court cases and occasionally in death.

In 1594, likely due to the miserable financial situation he eventually found himself in, he followed Petr Vok of Rožmberk's campaign against the Turks, in which their troops tried, unsuccessfully, to defend the Hungarian castle of Ráb (Györ). After more trouble with the law, Mikuláš eventually turned to writing; although he also tried himself at poetry, his more important contribution were his family's memoirs, which he equipped with documents, reports and oral stories, creating an important testimony to the Czech life of his time.