8. Rozvoj lyžařské turistiky
SKI TOURISM BOOM
Trains from Brno, accommodations – First Republic hotels
Since the 19th century Railways played a vital role in the history of cities. During industrialization they represented a significant step in the city’s development process, especially in terms of transport of goods and transport of citizens.
First efforts to build a Railway in Nové Město na Moravě appeared in the 1860s, when a commission was created in cooperation with nearby cities, whose task was to negotiate the construction of a railway from Brno through Nové Město na Moravě to Německý Brod. The project never became reality due to a lack of finance. Despite the long-term effort, the negotiations did not become successful until the beginning of the 20th century, when a new mayor, Josef Sadílek, took over. The construction was finished in 1905.
Nevertheless, the citizens were not satisfied with the result. Mainly because in comparison to Žďár nad Sázavou, which represented a main railway station, Nové Město na Moravě became only a “stop on the way”.
But not even this inconvenience could stop the development of Nové Město as a ski resort. Skiing, gradually gaining on popularity, freezing winters and ski races attracted many tourists. Especially skiers coming from Brno took a liking to Novoměstsko and the arrival of more tourists was massively supported. Since January 1910 Austrian National Railways operated a special line of a winter ski train. The first one departed on 31 December 1910 – the first ticket from this ride is kept in the collections of the Museum of Horácko. On Sundays and public holidays these trains connected Brno and Nové Město na Moravě. Riding the express train, departing from Brno every Sunday and on public holidays at 5:30 AM, the skiers arrived to Nové Město shortly before 9 AM and then they boarded a train to go home in the evening a few minutes after 6 PM.
This is a tradition, which was kept up to the 1930s, despite a certain recession during the First World War. Fourteen sports trains were dispatched during the winter season 1929/1930.
Of course, local infrastructure had to be adapted to match the needs of incoming tourists. Many new hotels were built in the city to increase the accommodation capacities. One of those being the Artis Hotel, built in 1908 and prospering thanks to its proximity to the train station.
“In 1905 when the railway line from Tišnov through Nové Město to Žďár was opened, a foresighted architect, Josef Sadílek, built a one-story hotel called “U nádraží” in 1906. In 1919 the hotel was bought by Josef Gregor and his wife, Růžena, the daughter of the publican, Jindřich Koza. Mostly thanks to its location, the Gregor hotel became popular among the numerous tourists and the locals. This is nicely illustrated by a memory of the former presiding judge of the district court, JUDr. František Toušek (later in life he also worked as a court president in Brno: “… sometimes we used to be very loud while having fun, especially when we were at the Gregor hotel, below the wind, where were not disturbing anyone. I reckon when a guest came to the hotel, and we did not notice him. At midnight he called for the hotel manager, Mr Gregor, and complained about the company disturbing him from his sleep. And so he got an honest answer: It is the mayor, the court president, the district representative, the district school inspector, the professor… Enough, enough! Replied the guest and went back to bed. Later, when Mr Gregor told us about the guest, we made sure not to disturb him so much.”
Beginning at the turn of the 1940s and the 1950s, the fame of the hotel was on decline. After 1989 the owners of the hotel frequently changed, and it was renamed to “Artis hotel”.
Lastly, the importance of the train station should be stressed, as it was the location of the first ski races in Nové Město na Moravě on 2 February 1910. The race with a finish at the Kazmírovec pond was won by Ing. Karel Mrkvička.
Author: LD