The MUZOOS Project is Taking Off

Following the necessary preparations and securing the right "enthusiasts," the MUZOOS project was officially included in the PROJECTS section. This was decided after a meeting on July 19, 2023, at the existing KD Rýdeč, attended by Petr Karlíček (Director of the Ústí nad Labem City Archives), Martin Krsko (Head of the Historical Department at the Ústí nad Labem City Museum), Petr Kůstka (Mayor of Malečov), Pavel Plánička (architect and managing director of 3+1 Architects), and Zdeněk Petr (Chairman of the Association). The KD Rýdeč building is planned to be renovated into a multifunctional MUZOOS center.

The planned center will host an interactive exhibition on the vanished villages, settlements, and isolated places (ZOOS) of the Bohemian Central Highlands. Essentially, it will be a documentation center for lost settlements within the boundaries of the Czech Central Highlands Protected Landscape Area. The academic supervision of the project will be provided by Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. The ground floor will include a ZOOS exhibition, a tourist information center, and a restaurant. The first floor will feature a multifunctional hall for lectures, seminars, exhibitions, and social events, as well as a simple tourist hostel. The surrounding area will be landscaped, with a small parking lot, a camper van hookup with emergency e-bike charging, and an electric vehicle charging station. From the MUZOOS center, a 10 km-long educational trail titled "Restoration of Memory" will loop back to its starting point. For more details on the project's development and current status, see Project History.