History and Development The oldest history The Landscape offers more than 500 years of experience of how the people who bred horses in individual historical periods considered the sustainable use of landscape, and of natural resources and their cultivation. The terrain, soil, climate, water and vegetation were used and also cultivated to the extent the then farming customs and degree of knowledge allowed for breeding horses for an important European Imperial Court. The landscape still bears the authentic traces of this development since the oldest days. In the same way the horse breeding and training know-how that became the main source of income for local population was developing. Hand in hand with this development these people were also taking care of the landscape. With the time the “mere” farming cultivation of natural countryside turned into the work of architecture while the art plan did not overrule the farming purpose. The aesthetics were always considered the natural quality of work. Since horses and particularly coach and carriage horses owned by the Emperor evoke noble feelings in men, the Landscape is naturally also refined. Numerous archive and historical documents bear evidence of centuries’ long continuous and rich development of architectural heritage in the Landscape. The buildings that were raised, pulled down and refurbished there in the course of times complement the landscape and they are only a part of its memory and current appearance. The history of horse breeding in Kladruby is probably as old as the history of the local settlement. The Elbe river alluvial plain, the location of the Landscape, had been settled since medieval times40, later than the neighbouring fertile flatlands further away from the river. The meandering stream was lined with badly accessible riparian forests with numerous wetlands, marshlands and lakes that were often flooded. The settlement of the areas along the river was the result of the exploitation of the high quality oaks. The first woodcutters obviously brought the horses with them to do the hard work. The cleared areas of the riparian forest were not suitable as arable land because of the high level of ground water and regular floods but they were ideal as pastures for horses. The neighbouring already settled fertile areas served as stable markets for horse breeders. It seems obvious that horse breeding was the main trade of local inhabitants already in pre-Hussite41 times judging by the coat of arms with a horseshoe that belonged to Kladruby nad Labem squires who were also obliged to breed the horses for the court of Přemyslid princes. River Elbe, one of the important European rivers, played the key role in the farming cultivation of Kladruby nad Labem landscape. The woody foundations of the alluvial plain vegetation formed in less wet areas known as hard meads, that is summer and winter oaks(Quercus robur, Quercus petraea) and elms (Ulmus laevis, Ulmus carpinifolia). The wet and regularly flooded soft areas were the home of central European lowlands willows (Salix alba, Salix caprea, probably Salix viminalis and others), black and white poplars (Populus nigra, Populus alba) and also alder trees (Alnus glutinosa). On the first river terrace grew pine forests (Pinus sylvestris) probably with some lime trees (Tilia cordata, Tilia platyphyllos) and maple trees (Acer platanoides, Acer campestre). The name of Kladruby nad Labem village (Kladruby = hew the logs) located on the territory of the Property indicates the first settlers were woodcutters. Kladruby nad Labem is mentioned in the year 1295 as a part of Cistercian Monastery property in Sedlec near Kutná Hora. The neighbouring village of Selmice located also on the territory of the Property is mentioned in the year 1142, the date the monastery was founded. After 1491 Kladruby nad Labem, a part of Pardubice domain, came under the rule of Oberstlandhofmeister (in German, English equivalent of the Master of the Household) Wilhelm II of Pernstein (1435–1521), a member of one of the most important noble families in Kingdom of Bohemia. Wilhelm II of Pernstein began to build in Eastern Bohemia a system of lakes fed by an artificial Opatovický Canal. The system of lakes was later more or less destroyed as a result of the 30 years war and Emperor Josef II’s reforms but Opatovický Canal affected the Landscape as it is until today the source of irrigation water that the canal feeds into the Landscape by Kladrubský náhon (raceway - see below) which is part of the Landscape. The preserved Pernstein urbaries indicate that before 1522 the Pernstein family founded a game park in Kladruby nad Labem to breed the game as well as horses.44 This was the real beginning of history of the Property as purposefully created cultural landscape. The additional entry in the urbaries possibly from the second half of 1520s of 1530s mentions cancellation of Meierhof (German term – administered farmstead with tenants) and the takeover of the land plots by Pernsteins, i.e. extension of the game park at the time of the rule of childless Vojtech of Pernstein (+1534) or possibly his brother John (+1548). At the time of game park extension the Pernsteins built their favourite early renaissance official seat mentioned in preserved correspondence. Terracotta reveal findings45 in the farm yard of Kladruby nad Labem stud farm, the same as those found in Pardubice, date its origin to the 1530s. Horse breeding activities were part of the game park yet there is no information about closer relations between the care for game and for horse breeding. The Pernstein game park in Kladruby belonged among the oldest noble families’ game parks in Bohemia (the oldest ones were royal game parks led by the game park in Prague called Ovenecká). In the north the territory of the park was bordered by a forest, in the south by Elbe River, and inside the park there was an open pasture forest, single trees in grass, pastures. Vratislav II of Pernstein (1530–1582), Bohemian kingdom Chancellor, whose costly life style led to high debts, was forced to sell the Pardubice Estate to the Bohemian Chamber. The Bohemian Chamber bought the Pardubice Estate on March 21st, 1560. The Emperor Maximillian II Habsburg founded a stud farm there in 1563. The reason why the House of Habsburg (they got control over the Lands of the Bohemian Crown in 1526) as well as the Czech Estates were interested in the Pardubice Estate was their systematic effort to establish a base for Prague Habsburg Court. Hence the Chamber was acquiring manors in the fertile river Elbe region (Poděbrady 1492, Brandýs nad Labem, Přerov nad Labem 1547, Kolín 1547 and definitely in 1591). The intrinsic part of the manors was game parks important for representation and the owners’ past time. The Prague court thus got hold of a complex of game parks (New game park Hvězda and Royal Game Park in Prague, game parks in Králův Dvůr u Berouna, Kostelec nad Labem, Brandýs nad Labem and Poděbrady) and other items (Kladruby nad Labem and Kunětická hora). The urbaries of Pardubice manor estate mention in 1563 Kladruby nad Labem: “Farmstead in Kladruby nad Labem game park. Fields belonging to the farmstead are regularly sown. There are two categories of mares bred there – for ploughing, sowing and carting the grain and the herd mares, altogether 30 horses. They keep 40 cows. There are also special pastures for grazing cows and mares. In the garden plants are sown for labourers and fruit grown to be consumed and dried if the harvest is rich.” The inventory from 1561 states 30 mares, 3 breeding stallions, 11 two years old mares, 5 one year old mares, a two years old foul and 5 one year old fouls in the “Large game park” (i.e. Kladruby nad Labem). The description of Pardubice manor estate from 1570–1571 include a section about the Kladruby nad Labem game park: there was a brick and stone manor house and a farmstead to serve the needs of labourers and cattle. The fields were sown with barley (44%), oats (24%), and wheat (28%) and to lesser extent peas (3%). There was also a well organised vegetable garden used by the labourers’ kitchen. The orchard served also as a meadow providing some 80 cartloads of hay. The meadow by the Elbe river called “Zemanství” provided 30 cartloads of hay a year, the meadow called “Za oborou” next to Elbe stretching to Selmice village yielded 150 cartloads of hay a year. Besides deer, hogs and feathered game the game park also served as a breeding ground for mares and horses in general. A large number of deer, pheasants, partridges and black grouses are reported in the game park. By both gates to the game park there were two small lodges whose tenants were obliged to open and close the gates (known as Selmická and Semínská “Vrata”). On 6 March 1579 the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II issued a decree promoting the stud farm to the imperial court stud farm. Soon after this promotion, between 1579 and 1582, the manor house was refurbished and the new stables were built by Italian bricklayers who worked under the supervision of the Imperial Court Architect Ulrico Aostalliss.46 The Kladruby game park land soon became inadequate. In 1584,the stud farm and the game park were enlarged by the plots that belonged to Semín village and Selmice village (after 1588). The documents from 1588 state that “there is a big building in the game park built mostly of bricks with many bedrooms, rooms, basements and closets. Adjacent are two proper vaulted kitchens with larders and various other areas ready for the occasional visits of His Imperial Highness.