The manager is fulfilling a childhood dream and will live in a fortress

Malešov (Kutnohorsko) - Few people get to fulfill their childhood dream. Thirty-three-year-old manager Ondřej Slačálek is close to achieving it. Next year, he wants to live in a medieval fortress in Malešov in the Kutnohorsko region. He decided to save the dilapidated monument six years ago. However, he says he won’t be able to say “done” for at least another four years.
    "The traditional comment from people who come here is that I have this for a lifetime, that I will never finish it. In terms of maintenance, that's true. But in these six years, we've done so much work that I can clearly see the end," he says. According to him, everything will depend on finances. "It consumes money, and the vast majority comes from my own pocket," he noted. The Central Bohemian Region contributes tens of thousands of crowns to the repairs, and for the last two years, he has received grants from the Ministry of Culture; twice, he has also been helped by a donor named Petr Binder, nicknamed Poutník Hroch. However, Slačálek admits that he prefers to invest from his own funds - then he decides about the money himself and no one else interferes with the repairs.
    He says he can’t even imagine not having the fortress anymore. "Even though it is incredibly demanding in terms of time and energy. I spend my holidays and all my free time here," he says. He finds the transformation of the dilapidated monument into a place that is to become his home more satisfying than if he had bought an expensive car or a luxury villa.
    "When I was a kid, I used to build paper models of castles based on my own designs. As I got older, models no longer sufficed, and I started looking for a real object," he reminisced. Although his family comes from the vicinity of Malešov and he knew about the local fortress, he searched throughout the republic. In the end, however, he returned and bought the fortress from the municipality in 2002. Besides living there, he wants to open it to the public. He has been doing so throughout the reconstruction. The historical event "Conquest of Malešov," which takes place on the first Saturday of September, has become a tradition. Several hundred people have already seen with their own eyes how the repairs are progressing six times.
    This year, the lord of the fortress showcased a new black kitchen, a fireplace, and a period bedroom. The latter, a log cabin room, is adorned with medieval paintings based on historical templates. "The technique is medieval - egg tempera mixed with linseed oil and pigments," described Slačálek. However, according to him, it is only an ideational replica, not an exact copy, as a similar room probably did not exist in the fortress.
    Original plans of what the fortress might have looked like do not exist. The oldest engraving, dating back to around 1845, shows only the tower. According to the architectural-historical survey, it is only possible to estimate what the internal spaces might have looked like since frequent reconstructions have changed the object considerably. The tower is being reconstructed to resemble what it might have looked like in the late Middle Ages at the end of the 15th century. The lower part probably had an economic background with a black kitchen, above it was the representative dining room of the fortress owner, and above that a historical apartment with a bedroom. The current owner will also live on the second floor of the tower without an elevator. However, his residence will be modern. "I've had enough of the Middle Ages here," he laughs.
    The oldest mention of the Malešov fortress dates back to 1303. In the second half of the 14th century, it was owned by a wealthy burgher family from Kutná Hora - the Ruthard family. Over the centuries, dozens of owners have changed hands. The fortress served as a granary until 1980. Five years later, it was taken over by the municipality, which wanted to turn it into a cultural center. However, their plans failed, and the building fell into disrepair.