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Tušimice II and The Vicarage, or the Parsonage at Mariánské Radčice

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Samotar

Wednesday morning we drove from the town of Most to the the Tušimice II lignite quarry, located near Kadaň. The original name of the quarry was Důl Nástup.

Afternoon we returned to Most and part of the expedition took the the train to Louka u Litvínova and by bike we arrived finally in the vicarage of Mariánské Radčice. Splendid baroque building with many dormitories, 1 priest, 5 dogs and 3 kitchens. Only disadvantage is lack of internet connection. Later we discovered continuous humming from the open cast pit Bílina located eastwards on the frontiers of the village direction Libkovice.

The municipality of Mariánské Radčice covers an area of 12.49 square kilometres (4.82 sq mi), and has a population of 436 people. Mariánské Radčice lies 9 kilometres north of Most, 29 km west of Ústí nad Labem, and 77 km north-west of Prague. The high period of the Baroque premises of Our Lady of Sorrows took place in the 18th and 19th century, thereby even a decrease in the rate of visitors. From 1848, pilgrimage tradition was renewed. The critical period came after 1945, when the Germans were moved out and the monastery in Osek was terminated and transformed into the prison for priests and monks. In 1989, the Cistercian Order returned to Osek, the premises became their property again. Since 2007, the tradition of Marian pilgrimages has been renewed and this upcomming weekend is in the village fair.

We visited the terrain of the underground mine Kohinoor, closed down in 2008. It is on walk distance from the village. It used to provide a job for 2000 employes, later around 1000 and currently only 42 men work there. Their main function is to take care about the new Lake of Most, which belongs to their service and observing several closed deep mines in the district.

Today Tommi and Gunhild from Norway finally arrived, as well Peter Cusack. Vladimír Turner and Dagmar Šubrtovová left to Prague, will be comming back Saturday.

Thursday afternoon a walk towards borders of the mining area with Martin, Tommy, Miloš and Michal. The landscape is created by bushes, small lakes and old orchards. The asphalt road we walked on suddently ended in a lake. In the middle of the pond stand a electricity pole withour wires.

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Uhelné elektrarny

Mariánské Radčice

sdas.cz

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Peter Cusack: Lignite Clouds (Sound Workshop)
Locations: Most Basin - Libkovice, Jezeří Chateau, Mariánské Radčice, Osek, Lom u Mostu, Most lake Accommodation: Mariánské Radčice (vicarage) Outline: A two-day workshop focused on the sound environments around the brown coal industry in Most Basin (North Bohemia). We useed both listening and making field recordings. We also used photography and writing to compare the differences between the sound, visual and language perspectives on the area. Day 1: We visited a number of local places to record, photograph and talk to people there. The places include the coal face of a mine where the machines are working, the village of Mariánské Radčice, which in under the thread of disappearance because of mine expansion, Libkovice which has disappeared because of mine expansion, lake created by mining and the chemical site near Litvínov. Day 2: After the visits, we will discuss the material recorded and how they could be used creatively in the future. About sonic journalism: Recent projects of Peter Cusack have explored the practice of “sonic journalism’ -- the audio equivalent of photojournalism. Sonic journalism is based on the idea that valuable information about places and events is revealed through their sounds and that careful listening will give insights different from, but complimentary to, visual images and language. Lecturer: Peter Cusack Participants should bring: a sound recorder, microphone, good shoes, rain coat, and a sleeping bag. Further information: Miloš Vojtěchovský (milos@skolska28.cz, tel. +420 608 571 881) How to get there: by train to train station Lom u Mostu, or Louka u Mostu, or Litvínov, then by bus (or by walking) to Radčice; the vicarage is next to the church. Max. 15 participants Peter Cusack: Brown Coal & Petrochemical Landscapes - North Bohemia For the last 100 years and still today this part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic has been the country's main energy hub. Beginning with brown coal mining early in the century, the petrochemical industry was introduced during the 2nd world war. Oil brought 100s of kilometers by pipeline is refined here. The effect on the landscape has been dramatic. It is a beautiful area of wooded hills and much remains so today. But around the industries huge changes have taken place; vast opencast pits are are excavated to expose and extract the coal, valleys are filled with the soil removed to create hills that did not exist before, many villages and whole towns are demolished or buried to make way for the expanding mines, churches have been picked up and placed eleswhere, brand new lakes are created in the chasms after the coal has been used up. The whole area is being sculpted around the needs of the energy industry – a process that continues unabated today. However much of the rich history also remains; stunning ancient monastries and castles stand on the edge of the brown coal pits and paths of pilgrimage are re-routed to avoid the encroaching mines. Old villages and the people who live there have no choice but to adapt to the 24/7 drone of machinery. Children grow up with these sights and sounds as their personal legacy. For an outside visitor it can be fascinating, horrific, beautiful and depressing in quick succession. Participants: Tomáš Šenkyřík, Martin Marek, Sonya Darrow, Luboš Svoboda, Lloyd Dunn, Gunhild Enger, Matin Zet, Tommy Hovik, Marcus Held, Kristín Runnsdottir, Thorunn Eymundardottir, Robert Vlasák, Vladimír Turner, Helena Čtyroká (asistence - Michal Kindernay, Dominik Žižka) …

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