HISTORICAL TRAIL POINTS

In 1877, Theodor Gauba (1877 – 1929) was born in Stekník, who served as Sales Directorof the Saaz hop growing and peasant association. He was a co-founder of a hop trading companyGauba and Häring. He also devoted himself to publishing and writing articles on hop growing.
Another important personality of the village was JUDr. Leopold Hennet (1867-1950),who inherited the castle and the manor from his parents.He devoted himself to agriculture and the development of the hop growing in Stekník. From 1905 to 1907 he served as a mayor of Stekník and later held a number of positions in Austria. Among other things, he was Austrian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Austrian Ambassadorto Hungary.
GeroldDéteindre (1874-1939)worked as a Swissconsul in 1912 – 1927. He was selling Stekník’s hops to France, Egypt and Morocco.
The head of Special Purpose Farm Stekník anda hop knightJaroslav Duška (1931-2016) contributed to the preservation of the Baroque estates, some sculptures from the castle and documentationof the castle’s furniture.
Actor, screenwriter and teacher Zdeněk Svěrák(1936) used to go to the Stekník hop brigades with his students.

2 Personalities connected with Stekník

Theodor Gauba (1877-1929)

Theodor Gauba was born in Stekník. In 1896 he started to work as a bookkeeper in the hop stamp shop of the Association of Saaz Hop Producers of Hop. In 1901 he became an accountant in the United Saaz Hop Stamp Shop Association and later held the post of Chief Controller. In 1909 he was appointed business director of the Saaz hop-peasant association and later he wore the title of general director. He held the post of director until 1925. He traded with hops himself, and even founded the hop business company Gauba and Häring. He was also involved in publishing and writing articles of hop growing.

JUDr. Leopold Hennet (1867-1950)

Maria Leopold Albrecht von Hennet was born in Gaaden near Vienna. He devoted himself to agriculture and in years 1901-1907 managed the estate Stekník and Velichov. He inherited the Stekník castle from his father. From 1905 to 1907 he even held the position of mayor of Stekník. He significantly contributed to the development of hop growing in Stekník. During his life he held a number of important functions. In 1921 he become Austrian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and was also in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1922. Between 1932 and 1936 he represented Austria as an Ambassador to Hungary.

Gerold Déteindre (1874-1939)

The last private owner of the estate, Gerold Frédéric Deteindre was born in St. Gallen, Swiss. In 1912-1927 he held the position of Swills consul in Prague, at that time the castle was often visited by prominent personalities from the diplomatic world, and was adapted to the representative premises. He served for many years as president of the Swiss Association in Czechoslovakia and a member of the Association of German Landowners. The amount of correspondence is evidenced by lively trade in hops with foreign companies. Stekník’s hops went to France, Egypt and Marocco.

Jaroslav Duška (1931-2016)

Jaroslav Duška was born in Skupice. In 1960 he became an agronomist and a year later he was appointed Head of Special Purpose Farming of Hop Research Institute in Stekník. He commisioned the first projects to save Baroque estates in the village square and saved some sculptures from the castle´s garden, which he had installed on the gates of local buildings. He also saved documents describing the castle’s furniture. He worked in Stekník for 29 years and in 1992 he retired. In the same year he received the international hops award in Slovenia, the Knight of the Hop Order.

Remarks

Zdeněk Svěrák, a prominent Czech playwriter, screenwriter, actor, songwriter and writer, first worked as a teacher at elementary school in Měcholupy, then switched to elementary school in the Comenius alley in Žatec and then to the Žatec grammar school. During his teaching period in Žatec he travelled with his students to the hop brigades to Stekník and stayed with them at the castle. In the brigades he likes to remember, he got a nickname “bobulka” from the students because he unknowingly called them “friends and berry”, because he mentioned that on hops grow berries instead of cones.