Prácheňské muzeum v Písku

Adolf Heyduk arrived at the newly established school of Realism as a lecturer of drawing and calligraphy in 1860. He was born in Předhradí near Skuteč (1835), and was already a well-known poet at the time of his arrival in southern Bohemia. Together with J. Neruda, V. Hálek, J. V. Frič, B. Němcová and others, he was engaged in publishing the Máj almanac in 1858 and as a result of this he was classified as a member of the Májovci literary association. He came to like Písek so much that he married his student, Emilie Reinerova, and settled down there permanently. His family happiness was disrupted by the deaths of both his daughters – three-month-old Jarmilka and later 4-year-old Liduška. He sought consolation in his literary work, and as a result thousands of his poems were published throughout the magazines of that time, as well as sixty individual collections of poems. Heyduk died in Písek in 1923, and is buried at Vyšehrad cemetery.

In 1900, the poet had a house built which was decorated with poetic symbols – Pegasus and a swan, as proposed by the architect Jan Koula. After Mrs Heyduk died, a monument was established there which is administered by the Práche�?ské museum in Písek. You can see the poet’s study, dining room and saloon – including the furniture, the library and the paintings as well as some small domestic items. As an addition to the monument, there is also a new exposition about the life and works of the poet.