On their website, you’ll read that they’re one of the oldest engineering companies in the world—they’ve been in business since 1889. They’ve manufactured just about anything you can think of out of high-grade steels. And suddenly you’re standing in an abandoned hardening shop, in a testing lab where material-testing equipment still sits on the tables, walking through halls where everything is in disarray and there’s just the occasional forgotten machine—including a unique American model still running on a transmission drive—or through the workshops and foremen’s offices… it’s a strange feeling.

A look inside the last "Mohican" of this part of the complex, near the former generator and Pumping Station 2.

I decided to take advantage of the situation, come back here, and explore the whole place, since I was already wandering around across the way. All that remained of the poor shepherds were the cables that had allowed them to move around the guarded area, and even those made one feel uneasy.

The steel produced here was known throughout the world; today, unfortunately, it is gradually disappearing under the watchful eye of countless cameras and sensors...

Like the mythical Phoenix rising from the ashes, this architectural gem of a brewery—whose lager was once legendary—is being reborn. During my visit, debris and trash were being cleared away, and I was told that, in cooperation with the National Museum of Brewing, plans were underway to open the building to the public—a development I had beaten to the punch. There are even plans to resume brewing beer, so all that’s left is to keep our fingers crossed for the local association and look forward to tasting the first batch.... :) In the meantime, I enjoyed exploring the brewhouse, malt house, wood storage area, and the monumental lager cellars.

As Micinka said, it's summer, so it's hot as an oven.... It's cool in the brick kiln right now, but I'd still rather head to the water ;)

These towers, which are key facilities for the production of chemical products, are places where time has stood still and where a century-old past meets the modern era. They were once filled with limestone and acid flowed through them. Down below, a network of rail transport with trolleys and bucket conveyors remains to this day, a reminder of the site’s origins 120 years ago. The silos still hold limestone, though they now serve different purposes; on one side, the space with the new conveyor is lit by fluorescent lights, and up above, a dispatcher used to sit on one side and still sits on the other to this day... plus, you’ll even come across a working alarm here, so it’s a bit of a trip.

A great opportunity to take a look at areas that are otherwise inaccessible before restoration work begins

This is the end....... The last promised tour takes us to the cleaning hall, which also houses various workshops, foremen’s offices, material distribution points, and warehouses. Of course, such a facility also requires a building with employee amenities, including changing rooms and showers, offices, filing rooms, and, in this case, an archive.

Foundries aren’t just production halls—they also include the company cafeteria, stacks of documents, employee showers, offices, training rooms, and even the cleaning lady’s storage room... :)

A photo lab, a testing room, other labs, and their ventilation systems. All of this was needed here, and for now, it’s all on display...

Just about everyone who played with PIKO trains as a child is familiar with these little cars. They were built in the 1950s for the Deutsche Bahn (DB), which needed to modernize its passenger cars after the war. But there was nowhere else to turn, so they had to refurbish old Prussian cars dating back to before World War I. The conversion resulted in these three-axle second- and third-class cars, which remained in service until the 1980s. The surviving ones were supposed to be restored, likely for museum purposes, but that never quite happened, so you can see various stages of work on their interiors, including blueprints fluttering in the wind.

In terms of the scope of its production of computer technology equipment, the national enterprise was one of the most productive in Czechoslovakia. By 1975, it had supplied domestic and foreign users with the following range of main products: 18,000 punch card machines, 220 computers for information processing, 1,000 MEDA analog computers, and 160 single-purpose analog computers... And today it is no more. It disappeared at a dizzying pace to make way for a lucrative development project, so when Robert pointed out to me that it was being demolished, my friend and I didn't have much time left to do anything about it. On one side, equipment was flying out of the windows, on the other, an excavator was already gnawing away at the building.

This Baroque castle changed hands quite often, including among prominent families. One of them sold it to the dean of the law faculty, who had a new castle built in the English Gothic style and an English park added to the old castle. After his death, his widow transferred the castle to a relative, whose descendants unfortunately did not take care of it. The new owner repaired it in 1938. Another owner acquired it in 1945, but three years later the communists stole it, along with the estate, and in the 1950s turned it into a children's home. In the new millennium, it was abandoned, put up for sale, and is now happily falling into disrepair in the hands of a developer. It's a shame...

There used to be a private sanatorium for nervous and lung diseases here, but it was closed during World War II because of the Jewish origin of its owners. After nationalization by the communists in the 1950s, a pulmonology clinic was located here for a long time. Today, unfortunately, only homeless people live here, as evidenced by the neatly arranged shoes by one of the doors... Perhaps it will see better times now that the complex has a new owner.

...Maruna replies... The hum of lathes has been replaced by the cooing of pigeons, the rumbling of presses and the clanging of hydraulic sheet metal shears has been replaced by the clatter of shattering glass falling from skylights on the roof, and the roar of furnaces has been replaced by the wind rushing through the hall. Only the comradely commitment still hangs firmly in place.

A gym and hotel built in a former factory and the owners' villa. Considering that it was only completed a few years ago, it is in a rather poor condition, which says a lot about the quality of the work carried out...