2024-07-15 00:40:31
Clouds are reflected on the water surface of a flooded quarry near the village of Mrákov as in a mirror, and the depth of around ten meters means that the water here stays fresh and clean even in tropical heat. On weekdays, the locals have the swimming pool, which is beautified by trees and artistic sculptures, to themselves, but they are not here alone. Behind the glass of the water observatory, a 20-kilogram carp is watching them, and Zdeněk Zrąst pounces on them from the refreshments.
The photographer and diver has a former quarry leased from the municipality and has been living there with his wife and four children for eleven years. He discovered the place a year after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, but at that time he did not think about opening the area to the public. “We were a group of divers from the area who were supposed to look for a lost mushroom picker. He wasn’t here, but we found this one. We used the area for diving training for several years, but then people started wanting to come here,” says Zdeněk Zrąst that Lomeček’s birthday is this year.
“It took thirty years of sweat and hard work to make it look like this,” he says, seated on a wooden bench in the bistro, where visitors can enjoy refreshments. “Every day I get up at four in the morning to water it all here,” he points to the green banks around the water. Originally there was nothing but stone. Today, a beautiful willow tree bends down to the surface, the wind plays with the reeds, and wild roses are overgrown with wild roses. “The challenging part is that we’ve built an artificial environment, which means that if the sun shines for two days and I don’t water, the greens will turn yellow and wilt,” he explains.
Today, three of his four children help with operations in the area, clean the water observatory, serve visitors in the bistro or collect entrance fees. “I try to get them to help with something, to take care of something from a young age. If they learn it now, they will be able to do it in thirty years. They probably have the biggest school of their life – that’s where every child of mine starts when they turn fourteen, fifteen years old. The vast majority of guests, or I should say, the most important ones, are great. But like everywhere else, there are idiots here, and it is thanks to them that the children understand that the world is not like in fairy tales,” Zrąst smiles.
This is Lomeček too. | Photo: Magdalena Medková
Art and carp
In addition to the greenery, Lomeček is characterized by sculptures that here and there protrude from the water surface, stand along the shores and with their shapes complete the romantic atmosphere of the entire area. “It was started by the fantastic sculptor Tomáš Tichý. He is actually responsible for the fact that it has degenerated into art here. Subsequently, I started organizing symposia where artists from the Czech Republic and abroad come every year and create something for Lomeček,” explains the administrator of the picturesque area, who the artist Michael Rittstein also regularly visits and decorates.
“I live a short distance from here and I feel nostalgic for this place. Zdenek and I know each other because I go swimming here every day. I used to swim three and a half kilometers, then I gave up and now I swim one,” he says, adding that years ago he came here every year drove students to art classes. “They were given the task of painting a piece of wood, and for that Zdeněk made them lunch,” he laughs. “I’ve always made some myself, and as you can see, I already have quite a few here, so hopefully they won’t want anything from me this year,” he adds with exaggeration.
Throughout the summer, cultural events take place in Lomeček, except for concerts, the complex is only open until eight in the evening for the sake of family privacy. “It doesn’t do any good. I understand that people want to stay here and drink, but we get up very early and need to rest. Because of that, we don’t even have accommodation here, just two small cabins for friends and artists,” explains Zdeněk Zrąst.
Opposite the wooden log cabin with the bistro and the family’s apartment stands the water observatory, which was reconstructed this year thanks to donors in the public collection. It shows the life below the surface, where all kinds of fishes race around. The attraction here are the 20-kilogram carp, which spend most of their time under the bridge of the observatory and wait patiently for visitors to throw them something to eat. Zdeněk Zrąst planted them here thirty years ago, and today they treat him like his cats. “There was a person who understands fish, and he said that they are about half of their life and size. In a few years, they can weigh fifty kilos,” he adds.
Look at the photos.