Why did we decide to buy a monument in danger?
How did it actually happen? We had been talking about buying something old and dilapidated for a long time. However, few people (including us) believed it would actually happen. Perhaps not even my husband, whose dream it was. This life change was most accelerated by my decision to cut ties with swimming, my lifelong love. Despite the occasional whiff of chlorine, swimming pools are clean, bright, and, most importantly, warm. And what have I exchanged them for now? For dark, cold, and dusty rooms that only insects and mice like. However, I have created space for the realization of my dear husband's lifelong dream, as he likes everything old and shabby. He likes everything that has some history, and it doesn't even have to be a valuable antique; it's enough for him to find the remains of a waste pipe or a yellowed piece of paper documenting how firefighters organized a collection for a coat that burned on a volunteer during a recent rescue operation (1930).
“Myhusband calls this decision an adventure, I call it suicide, and we're probably bothright…”
The dream became reality in the summer of 2016, when, after years of searching for the "right" place, we arrived in Nemilkov. We are now in the early stages of repairing the buildings that are in a state of disrepair. For several months now, we have been working to save the most dilapidated parts of the estate. We are clearing out years of clutter and removing inappropriate structural alterations that have done more harm than good in the recent past. We are trying to dispose of worthless material in an environmentally friendly way, using all available means. We are saving everything that looks old, whether it is a shard or a piece of carved wood. We collect all information about the history of the castle and the farmstead, which was built on the foundations of a Gothic fortress. We work with historians and preservationists, and at the same time we look for local residents who can still remember the last owners of the farm, the Schreiner family. We are preparing documents and materials for more extensive renovations and repairs, which will be on the agenda in the near future.
Our main goal is to save a piece of history, as the castle grounds are a cultural monument. In the middle of the last century, it was listed as an endangered monument by the National Heritage Institute. The restoration of the buildings and surrounding area will be difficult and time-consuming. We have a challenging journey ahead of us. Our immediate goal is to bring the building back to life and open it to the public so that it can be used for education and recreation. The long-term goal is to restore the castle and its farmyard so that it can be removed from the list of endangered monuments in the Czech Republic.
