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Foreword

The Royal town of Žatec is located in the north-western Stekník, it means hops! I don’t know of many settlements
part of the Czech Republic. Looking at the town, we can that are so closely connected with the main, raw material
see a wide panorama of hop chimneys, which, as symbols for beer production – hops – such as our village, Stekník.
of the town’s wealth and its famous hop growing and hop
processing traditions, tell visitors about the rich history This connection can undoubtedly be called an intimate
of Žatec, due its connection with hops. The panorama relationship. If we consider the fact that beer was already
shows us that Žatec holds an important position in the being produced in ancient Egypt, then this relationship
world, where a unique story of continuous development, has been tested for millenia. Every spring, I am delighted
growing, processing, and the worldwide trade with hops that our village puts on a beautiful emerald green ring
took, and continues to take, place today. of hop fields surrounding it. Our hop fields are a natural,
visual calendar, and their changes during the year
The processing of this important brewing raw material inevitably complete the genius loci – the spirit of the
of the region, was the catalyst for the formation of place.
an extensive area in Žatec, with a set of completely
unique hop-related buildings, that cannot be found in This harmony also has its human form; the vast majority
such concentration, and extent, anywhere in the world. of our citizens are in some way, both historically and
This rare, authentic urban and architectural property contemporary, connected with the phenomenon of this
complex, in the town of Žatec, witnessed the hop growing hop tradition. They work in hop fields, they know almost
industry’s stormy development over a wide area, which is everything about this crop, they have experienced and
significantly imprinted on by the history of world brewing. still experience many ordinary every day human stories
Žatec is also the home of the internationally recognised connected with, and in them. Every homestead in our
hop brand, Saaz, the best aroma hop in the world. Saaz village bears some distinctive imprint of this unique
hops’ fine aroma sets the standard of quality, and these affiliation with the so-called "green gold".
hops initiated some of the world’s most successful beer
brands. In their local environment, these hops have been Our landscape bears the imprints not only of today but
scientifically studied, and professionally cultivated, over also of the times of former inhabitants, times of those
a long period of time. The extent, design, architectural who came to settle this region, times when they were
attraction, and authenticity of the hop-related buildings forced to give up these newly acquired homes in the
in Žatec are the reasons why the property of Žatec and spirit of ideology, and times when perhaps everything
the Landscape of Saaz Hops, would complement a wide returns and will return at least to the state of elemental
range of properties that have been already included normality. I am proud to represent a community that
on the World Heritage List. The property represents testifies to a unique phenomenon that we can boast to
a heritage of knowledge, protection and preservation, the whole world.
and would significantly enrich the world community
because of the authentic structures linked to the Danuše Cilcová
processing of hops, preserved to a similar extent only in
Žatec; the landscape’s uniqueness enhances this – which Mayor of (the village) Zálužice
is unmistakable.

We are resolutely committed to this unique history,
this unique heritage of hop-related buildings, and the
landscape’s uniqueness, that shapes and influences
these attributes. We will develop them, and we will
prove that the hop-related heritage of Žatec and its hop
growing areas are completely irreplaceable inside the
world’s cultural and natural heritage.

Mgr. Zdeňka Hamousová
Mayor of Žatec

Danuše Cilcová and Zdeňka Hamousová at the signing of the
Memorandum of Cooperation, Žatec, 2020