History of Czech countryside in the story of Ouběnic

Josef Petrán

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Professor Josef Petráň made an unusual discovery of the history of his native village Ouběnic in Benešovsk years ago, in which he published the fates of their inhabitants from colonization early in the 11th and 12th century to the threshold of the 21st century. In his new book, he expanded, deepened, and even more populated his "native romance."

In the story of one village he outlined the most important development trends in the history of the Czech countryside, not only by comparing it with its immediate surroundings, Benešovska and Podblanick, but also on a national scale. It is the second half of the 20th century that the author regards as the time of the village's demise in its original form as a collective of producers of agricultural products. The communist experiment only accelerated it brutally, as the same process, albeit in more refined forms, took place in contemporary Western Europe. The chapter on "socialization" of the countryside is one of the most impressive parts of the work.