History of the project

The discovery of the Proboštov Chronicle in the Ústí nad Labem City Archives (who would have thought...) was preceded by a two-year effort to obtain a copy of the chronicle through the inhabitants of Proboštov and their friends in Germany, whose ancestors had lived there.

At the end of July 2023, thanks to the mediation of Miroslav Fára, the operator of the Pohoří ski resort, the director of the archive, Petr Karlíček, met with a German citizen at the local kiosk, who handed him a copy of the "chronicle" of Proboštov written by Dr. Gabriel in Rostock in 1997. The 107 pages contain texts apparently based on the Proboštov Chronicle, supplemented with memories and articles from the press of displaced persons. During subsequent communication between Petr Karlíček and the chairman of the association, it became clear that the Ústí nad Labem City Archive holds the original Proboštov Chronicle, which documents events in the village between 1878 and 1946.

On August 11, 2023, the chairman of the association had the opportunity to view the chronicle in the archive and take several photographs (see below). It is an impressive book (cover dimensions 420 × 265 mm, pages 410 × 250 mm) containing a total of 122 pages of text. The process will follow the same steps as with the Němčí Chronicle: translation, graphic design, and printing for the donors who provided financial support for the project.

On August 29, 2023, a translation price of CZK 25,000 was agreed upon with translator Jan Leibel from the National Heritage Institute, ÚOP Ústí nad Labem (the same translator who worked on the Chronicle of Němčí). The translation work is set to begin in January 2024. In October 2023, a fundraising campaign was launched. Those who wish to contribute can support the publication of the chronicle by sending a financial donation to the association’s special account No. 9661917044/5500. If the necessary funds for the translation are raised, the fundraising campaign will continue to gather financial resources for covering the costs of a graphic design studio that will prepare the chronicle for printing. More about the account status can be found HERE.

At the beginning of August, Jan Leibl completed the translation and sent it to the association on August 8, 2024. All readers of the Chronicle will appreciate the extensive annotation apparatus. Based on the invoice, the translation fee was paid on August 19, 2024.

Subsequently, as with the Němčí Chronicle, the graphic design for printing was agreed upon with the graphic studio Imagine Media from Ústí nad Labem. Once again, the left side of the double-page will feature the Czech translation, while the right side will contain the German text of the chronicle. Since the original chronicle is quite large (see above), it was agreed that the printed publication would be approximately A4 size. On September 24, 2024, the graphic studio created the final version of the Chronicle translation for printing in both color and black-and-white formats. The association then paid CZK 13,100 for the graphic work, while the municipality of Malečov contributed CZK 10,000.

On October 3, 2024, it was agreed that the municipality of Malečov would cover the cost of printing the color version, just as it did with the Němčí Chronicle translation. Accordingly, the graphic studio Imagine Media was instructed to proceed with printing based on the quotation it had previously provided. The association will handle and pay for the printing of the black-and-white version.

On November 11, 2024, copies of the translation of the Proboštov Chronicle were delivered to the Malečov Municipal Office and prepared for donors in labeled envelopes with their names. Those who donated CZK 1,000 or more will receive a copy in color with glued binding. Those who donated less than CZK 1,000 will receive a black-and-white copy with ring binding.