# Trophy Hunter - Czech Republic, May 2019



## B W T (Sep 17, 2019)

Trophy Hunter #01

Secluded and lonely we discovered an abandoned manor-house in the rural part of the Czech Republic. On the last day of our road trip in May 2019, we were investigating the disappearing of a whole family. From one day to the next everything was simply left behind here some years ago and the residents of this big villa vanished into the night. Today, time stands still. It took us a while until we finally found an entrance but as we made it inside, we immediately set out on a search for clues. How is it possible that people leave their home permanently and neither take any valuables nor the items with sentimental value? Follow us to see what's left behind and to hear the story of this fascinating but yet really strange place.


Trophy Hunter #07

This place is a well-preserved time capsule. Enormous spider webs everywhere were showing that the manor must have been vacant for a very long time already. As it seems, hunting was playing an important role in the lives of the former inhabitants. Everywhere in the house, you can find animal trophies. It's a fact that different generations of several families have lived here over the course of many centuries. The history of this single-floored mansion even dates back to the Middle Ages.


Trophy Hunter #10 Frozen In Time

However, the building didn’t get its present shape before 1730. Back then the palace in the style of the baroque was built on the remains of a renaissance castle. Although the surrounding village was first mentioned already around 1,000 years ago, the date of the first documentation of the manor itself was only about 1480. In the course of the centuries it changed hands constantly. Most times, aristocrats of lower nobility were the owners. Even though it was extended and reconstructed several times, the estate was always considered to be small and neglected.


Trophy Hunter #03 Viper

After World War 2, owners eventually were dispossessed. Under Soviet control, the four-wing building was nationalized and given to an agricultural cooperative. This was normal practice with rural property which belonged to the nobles. It was used to house officials, so they were working and living here for years. But there was no money for maintaining the ramshackle structure. The officials moved out and the stately home was vacant.


Trophy Hunter #11 by Broken Window Theory, auf Flickr

In 1967, it was finally revived. A charity organization was using the grounds as the home for sisters of an order. For that, interior spaces were partly completely reconstructed. The spacious chapel in the upper floor probably originates from this time. Until today, this chamber stood the test of time unscathed. During the recent 50 years it was probably maintained consistently by the different residents. However, the nuns had to move out at the latest in 1989. The socialist regime failed and was forced back. The house came back in the possessions of the people who owned it before World War Two. But now the traces vanish. How it went on and why the mansion was abandoned isn't 100% clear to us.


Trophy Hunter #05 SUV

It puzzles us every time when we see the home of a person who left behind everything. Even the big SUV is still standing in the carhouse. The vehicle hasn't been moved for years. Huge cobwebs and layers of dust are proving this. This is one of the weirdest discoveries we have ever made. If you run away, you would take your car, right? But as it seems, the owner simply disappeared into thin air. 


Trophy Hunter #02

While we were checking the house for clues when this place was abandoned, we have found different dates. For example, there was a note from 2010. Later we even found a calendar from 2012. This means the palace has now been vacant for almost ten years. Nevertheless, you could think that the owner could come back at any second.


Trophy Hunter #24 Disappeared

In the upper floor, there are many rooms in which we have found wardrobes that are still partly filled with clothes. What was standing out: All the chambers are numbered. Our first thought was that the farm used to be a boardinghouse or something similar during its final days. Then we stumbled across a word during our research which would explain much: Nursing home. It seems like especially elderly people were accommodated here. But we can't say for certain.


Trophy Hunter #13 Explosive

As you can see, the building substance falls into increasing disrepair. All over the house there are holes in the floors or in the ceilings. Due to moisture, mold has penetrated the walls by now. This structure is under monumental protection but nevertheless, it's rotting away. The costs for maintenance are probably simply way too high. Maybe this forced the owner into bankruptcy and the whole compound along with the valuables are now belonging to the bank. This would at least explain why everything was left behind.


Trophy Hunter #21 Big Game

After a long exploration, we left the historical manor. We have locked the window behind us again, so nature can't creep in and accelerate the decay even more. For us, this was the successful conclusion of an epic adventure. Although this place left us pondering again. The fact, that such time capsules exist is still a mystery to us. Who was living here until a few years ago? And what happened to the family? This hobby is always taking us to the most fascinating places.

If you want to see more of this crazy place, you can do it right now. We have produced a documentary about this exploration:


----------



## HughieD (Sep 17, 2019)

You really do find the most amazing places and write the best reports...


----------



## Dirus_Strictus (Sep 18, 2019)

Very sadly I have been in a position to meet people who walked away from Continental properties like this, with a suitcase and the clothes on their backs. Better poverty than death in a Communist prison - as the Czech regime closed in on the countries Intellectuals, or the Poles who escaped the Nazis persecutions and then the Soviet houndings after WW2. The Poles worked in our local pits as did a some of the Czech menfolk and a number of both nationalities lived in the area I grew up in.

As for the vehicle - The tyres are well inflated, and actually that amount of dirt and debris does not take long to accumulate in a dirty, draughty atmosphere. So I do wonder if it has nothing to do with the 'owners' of the residence, and maybe the local 'car thief' has hidden it away?


----------



## Sabtr (Sep 18, 2019)

Funny you should say that Dirus: I spotted other more recent things in there and was thinking it was stolen goods haha!

Some of the rooms have a wonderful '70s' colour to them. I'm unsure if it's the image processing or the actual rooms. I think the latter.
They were turbulent parts not that long ago and I do wonder if they fled.


----------

