Žítková lies in the Uherské Hradiště region. It is the site of an eco-open-air museum at the Janúš homestead (Janúšova usedlost), run by the association Janúšovja; its chairman and the founder of the eco-museum is Marek Matějek.[1]
The eco-museum took shape over roughly the last ten years through the gradual restoration of traditional buildings. The Janúš homestead is a complex of Kopanice farm buildings with roots in the 18th century. It includes a listed residential house, a cowshed, a barn, a cellar and a timber-framed fruit-drying house. The association restored it using original materials and traditional methods.[1][2]
On 11 October 2026, an environmental centre opened at the Janúš homestead. It presents the results of the Czech-Slovak project "Through the Landscape of Fruit Trees: Stories of Traditional Varieties", aimed at protecting biodiversity, saving old fruit tree varieties and education. As part of the project, varieties in the region were mapped and the rare ones among them were grafted into a gene-pool orchard of fifty trees. Orchards were created on both sides of the border, in Žítková and in the Slovak village of Moravské Lieskové, and an educational trail on traditional fruit growing and the landscape of Moravské Kopanice was also created. The restoration of the site, the mapping of varieties and the orchards were supported by a European Union grant of over 700,000 euros, roughly 17 million Czech koruna.[1][2]
The site hosts tours, excursions and programmes for schools and the public, for example fruit drying or plum-butter cooking. Courses in fruit growing and crafts, as well as workshops, are planned.[1][2]
Chronology
- — On 11 October 2026, an environmental centre opened at the Janúš homestead in Žítková in the Uherské Hradiště region, presenting the results of a Czech-Slovak project aimed at saving old fruit tree varieties. → Ekolist.cz iDNES.cz: Zlín
Sources
- Ekolist.cz — 11 October 2026
- iDNES.cz: Zlín