The story of the Cucovna complex
Although the original buildings of Cucovna have not been preserved, we can still enjoy its rich history today. The first references date back to the late 18th century, so we assume that it was built around the second half of that time.
The first owner was the Mochov highness, who entrusted Cucovna to the care of the keeper of the Podvinice pond, one of many in the Mochov area. The last remnant of the pond, in the form of the outlet, was filled in by the local JZD association at the end of the 1950s.
The new owner of the Cucovna was Mr. Cúc, a member of a fisherman family from Polubia, who bought it from the authorities in 1793. The building got its name from him, which has been preserved to this day.
Interestingly, the Cucovna has survived all the disasters and difficult trials that Mochov had to go through. During the 18th century, Mochov was plagued by harsh winters, massive spring floods, devastating fires, mouldy crops and the associated famine and even cattle plague. At that time, you could count the surviving cattle on the fingers of one hand.
In 1851, the farm was bought by the Srnc family, who lived there for several generations until 1920. Unfortunately, in 1893, the cucowhouse was destroyed by fire, which destroyed the main building, the barn and the stables. The original appearance of the Cucovna was thus irrevocably altered. We do not know how or if the family ever repaired the homestead.
For the next three years the Cucovna was empty. It was not until 1923 that the new owner, a certain Mr. Bílek and his family, brought the farmhouse back to life. He divided the building into many parts and Cucovna was then managed by several shareholders. Records from 1944 show that the Cucovna had a total of 4 hectares of land in the form of gardens, fields and pastures
.
The next change came in 1967, when Cucovna was bought by the hunters' association. They fought to save the pheasants in the countryside. The frequent encroachments of the local JZD into the fields took away the pheasants' space for peaceful nesting and their numbers declined considerably. Cucovna became a hunting base for regular meetings as well as a breeding and hatchery for small pheasants.
In the late 1970s, hunters tore down the original dwelling and built a new building on its foundations. Electricity was installed and several large-capacity hatcheries were built. In one hatchery, they successfully raised 1500 young pheasants!
Unfortunately, the economic situation did not favour the hunters and they had to postpone their project at the end of the 1980s. The hen house was then used only for regular meetings, lavish feasts and merry weddings - we continue this tradition. The Hunting Association occupied the Cucovna until the spring of 2019, when we discovered it and began to write a new history of the building.
Today, the Cucovna serves as a centre for weddings, family reunions, concerts, teambuilding or even a relaxing long weekend in the countryside
.