In Jasenné in the Zlín region, a museum has opened in the renovated Mikuláštík's fiefdom from 1748

Jasenná – In Jasenná in Zlín, today the National Museum of Nature opened the renovated Mikuláštík’s Fojtství. This national cultural monument from 1748 is one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind in eastern Moravia, showcasing life in Wallachia. The fojtství was built by the village mayor Jiří Mikuláštík; it is a wooden two-story log house with a porch. It has never been fundamentally renovated. The exhibition was created in collaboration with local memory keepers, making it very authentic, said Jindřich Ondruš, the general director of the National Museum of Nature, to ČTK today.

The fojtství was the administrative center of the village of Jasenná for centuries and the residence of hereditary mayors from the Mikuláštík family, who influenced the economic and social development of the village. Since 2021, it has been part of the National Museum of Nature, which is based in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm in the Vsetín region. In 2024, scientific reconstruction of the building began, which included the restoration of historical building structures, the establishment of facilities for visitors, and the installation of a new exhibition.

"Mikuláštík’s fojtství represents an extraordinarily valuable testament to the history of Wallachia and one of the most authentically preserved buildings of its kind in the Czech Republic. Its value lies not only in the building itself but also in the fact that it has been preserved in its original location, allowing visitors to learn about its story directly in the environment where it has unfolded for centuries. By opening this national cultural monument, we are completing an important project for the preservation and accessibility of this unique cultural heritage," Ondruš stated.

The reconstruction cost 17.6 million crowns. The European grant amounted to nearly seven million crowns, the museum contributed two million, and the rest came from the Ministry of Culture as the museum's founder.

The exhibition on the ground floor presents the household of František Mikuláštík, the grandson of the last fojt of Jasenná, and depicts the everyday life of a rural family in the first half of the 20th century. On the upper floor, visitors can learn about the history of the village, the functioning of the fojt office, and the fates of the Mikuláštík family. People will also find out about the porters who protected the region from bandits and disruptors of order, as well as the bandits and robbers. The building will be open daily from 09:00 to 17:00 during the summer season.

The heiresses of the Mikuláštík fojt family have taken care of the building since 1993 when it was returned to them in restitution. The house served as a private museum, and the National Museum of Nature acquired it in 2021. The reconstruction and opening of the fojtství to the public were praised by the mayor of Jasenná, Dana Daňová (independent), who is also from the Mikuláštík family and was one of the heiresses. "For us as a community, this is of course a huge joy because the fojtství, which has stood here since 1748, will continue to stand here. It is one of the most significant places in our town," Daňová told ČTK today.

As a descendant of the family, she felt joy and emotion. "I admit that when I first entered the reconstructed space and saw the exhibition and at the head of the large main room the portraits of our grandparents, I couldn't hold back my tears," Daňová stated. For her and her two sisters, it was challenging to care for the national cultural monument. "We are glad that the state has taken it over and that it knows how to take care of it, and that at the National Museum of Nature we have a guarantee that this building will be here, that this building will always be nice, and that the fojtství will adorn Jasenná for centuries to come," Daňová added.