Design and Layout Appearance of Brewery in Zahrádky Near Česká Lípa

Abstract

The Renaissance chateau brewery no. 55 in Zahrádky near Česká Lípa is changing in the ruins for several decades and a part of the buildings have completely been torn down. Nevertheless, till today its relics belong to the unique examples of building design, where many structures had been carved into the sandstone bedrock. This paper summarizes the earlier findings from no more existing parts of the building and new the landscaping findings in confrontation with preserved building plans. The preserved core of the malt-house, the vestibule and home torso of the brewer provably come from the year 1609. Noteworthy is also the evidence of substantially continuous reconstruction of the brewery at the end of the 17th century, documenting unusual amount of datings on a rocky massif, architectural elements or plasters. The attempt to modernize the operation was ended up at the end of the 19th century and has never been realized, apparently not even on the level of a project preparation of the malt kiln reconstruction to the so-called English type of vertical kiln. Intensive building activity had been registered especially in the thirties and the fifties to the seventies of the 19th century. A massive use of sandstone bedrock at the edge of the valley slope is for the North Bohemia very typical issue, which is common for other breweries in the region as well.