Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal’s summer cottage may open to the public

Central Bohemian and state representatives signed a memorandum on Wednesday towards opening the summer cottage of celebrated writer Bohumil Hrabal to the public.

The cottage in Kersko, in the Nymburk district, is privately owned and was put up for sale this summer. The Central Bohemian region intends to negotiate the purchase of the property in November, but it is not clear whether a sale will happen.

If open to the public, the Ministry of Culture would cover operating costs and fund exhibitions there in honour of Hrabal, whose best-known works include the novels Closely Observed Trains and I Served the King of England, both of which were made into films by Jiří Menzel.

Hrabal lived in Kersko, along with some two dozen semi-feral cats, for many years. The comedy Snowdrop Festival, based on another of his books and also directed by Menzel, was shot there. The Hájenka pub that features in the film is still in operation.