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History

About the New Pond

In Příbram, as on his other estates, Archbishop Arnošt of Pardubice is said to have established the ponds. The town’s inhabitants used them free of charge. When, following the Hussite Wars, Příbram fell to the King of Bohemia, who pledged it as security to various noblemen, the ponds on the Příbramský stream – Hořejší Obora and Podměstský Pond (now Dolejší Obora) – also became part of the pledge. Water from the Kaňka ponds and the now-defunct Štičí pond also flowed into the Příbramský stream. The size of a pond was determined by the quantity of fish stocked in it: in 1570, the first two ponds held twenty kop of fry; Kaňka held 4 kop of fry; and Štičí held 8 kop of fry. It was estimated that one kop (60 fish) of fry would yield, after two years, one džber of market-sized fish, i.e. 56–64 fish.

When Emperor Rudolf II, by his privilege of 1579, elevated Příbram to the status of a royal mining town, he granted the townspeople of Příbram permission to fish in the waters flowing through municipal lands. However, he retained ownership of the four ponds mentioned above, and it was not until 1586, following lengthy negotiations, that the royal town of Příbram purchased them from him.

Presumably out of a need to secure a sufficient supply of their own fish – which were a regular part of the diet – during the period of poor governance by the feudal lords, the people of Příbram built a municipal fishpond beneath Myšlodrazí Hill (now known as Padákem) in the wetlands along the Příbramský stream. It came to be known simply as ‘Nový’ (New), and is first documented in written sources in 1578. Whenever the pond needed repairing over the following two centuries, people who had committed some offence were often made to work on this communal project (today we would call it community service) as a punishment. In the second half of the 18th century, this also included women who had committed ‘sexual acts’ outside marriage.

Above the pond ran the road to Milín, and above that stood a carcass-processing shed, where the ‘carcass-processor’ or ‘ras’ disposed of animal carcasses. Below the dam of Nový rybník, on the Příbramský stream, a malt mill had stood since the mid-16th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, it became a large-scale farmstead with a gunpowder factory, a sawmill and a fulling mill, all of which required large quantities of water to power their water wheels. In the spring of 1713, however, the Příbram municipality began constructing another pond above Nový rybník, intended for agricultural purposes. When, shortly afterwards, the miller Žlutický built his mill downstream of this pond – and the pond now known as Fialův was named after him – long-standing problems with insufficient water flow into Nový rybník began. In 1725, therefore, a settlement was reached between the owner of Flusárna and the Příbram municipality regarding the abstraction of water from the municipal Nový rybník. In May 1781, the owners of the estate then known as Flusárna or Emauzy agreed with the municipality to carry out further modifications to the dam of Nový rybník, which could hold 12 kop of fish fry. They were still permitted to run channels from Nový rybník and store the water in their own reservoir.

Sometime during the 19th century, Nový rybník became part of Flusárna. The extensive farm was owned by Emilie Nebeská from 1890. Following the Communist coup in February 1948, the estate was nationalised from Julie Nebeská, who had been running a swimming pool and bathing area at Nový rybník for several years.

With the post-war expansion of the Jáchymov Mines (hereinafter JD; known as the Uranium Mines from 1966), which offered their employees generous pay and social benefits, the town’s population grew rapidly, necessitating the construction of new flats. In addition to other blocks of flats, a housing estate in the style of Soviet residential architecture (known as ‘SORELA’) was built between Příbram and Březové Hory from the early 1950s onwards.

As well as the construction of a new cultural centre in 1959, it was necessary to provide sporting facilities for people, most of whom at that time did not own cars, holiday homes or cottages. Given the six-day working week, they needed recreational facilities close to home. Nový rybník therefore seemed the ideal location, set in beautiful countryside and accessible on foot from all parts of the town.

In 1959, JD undertook to rapidly construct a new lido at Nový rybník at its own expense, at a cost of approximately 4 million Kč. The dam had to be reinforced by bringing in large quantities of earth from the excavations at the housing estate. Extensive landscaping had to be carried out around the pond, as it was necessary to raise the water level so that it would spill over into the surrounding meadows. Plans included the construction of modern changing rooms, sports pitches for various sports, communal rooms, showers and access roads. As was customary under socialism, according to the town chronicle, the construction dragged on due to ‘protracted inter-company negotiations’. In 1962, the town’s National Committee took charge of the construction of the complex and decided to complete it with the help of local factories and citizens as part of ‘Action Z’, under which people worked in their spare time and without pay. In addition to representatives of the district and town committees of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the town national committee, the trade union council, the Union of Mining Employees, the JD Bytíz and 9 May works, JD Construction Works and its other subsidiaries, as well as representatives of the physical education sector and the National Front, which brought together the social organisations permitted at the time. They agreed that one shift would be worked at each individual factory to support the construction of the complex. The trade unions also contributed to the construction, but once again the project failed to be completed by the planned deadline.

In 1963, more than 200 citizens worked on Nový rybník as part of ‘Operation Z’, and people were called upon to help with its completion at meetings, via the local radio and in cinemas. The Correctional Facilities Administration also sent several inmates here to work on the embankment. Rudné doly n. p., which had built its own lido at Pecovák, supplied 300 m³ of gravel for the paths leading to the sandy beach. In October 1963, the Municipal National Committee concluded an agreement with the Mining Company regarding the use of the swimming pool, under which 40 per cent of its capacity was reserved for the mines. An entrance fee was charged.

Filling of the swimming pool began on 8 June 1964. Fish were to be reared here for sport fishing, and in winter there was an ice rink. Kiosks were set up on the site, and young trees were brought in from the forests for the surrounding recreational areas. In 1966, slides, benches, parasols, wooden sun loungers, lighting, a drinking fountain, a boat hire service and, the following year, a dance floor were installed at the lido. Finishing work on the site, including the caravan park, continued into 1968. From the outset, however, the swimming pool facilities were a frequent target of vandals.

From the mid-1960s onwards, cultural and sporting events were held at Novák, such as go-kart races and flat-track motorbike races, cross-country runs, and celebrations of International Children’s Day or the Pioneers’ Festival. These were later joined by the grand celebrations of Miners’ Day on 9 September and the Summer Peace Festival. The latter, however, took place on a different date each year, depending on which Sunday the Coronation Festival at Svatá Hora fell on. The aim was to attract visitors not only with performances by Prague-based artists, but also by selling hard-to-come-by goods, so that people would not go to Svatá Hora. In 1976, preparations began for the construction of a ‘summer cultural centre’.

By 1985, Miners’ Day – with its variety show and miners’ market at Nový rybník – was no longer held, as the event had been running at a loss for several years. At the same time, a ban on swimming was repeatedly imposed for health and hygiene reasons, and so the site fell into disrepair.

PhDr. Věra Smolová