Zahrada paměti

An urban vision for the rehumanisation and renaturalisation of the village of Doubrava, which has been affected by mining activities, in particular by tens of metres of subsidence and the displacement of thousands of inhabitants.

The vision addresses the different problematic parts of the territory, leaving some to the elements of nature, redefining other parts with different functional uses, connecting them and creating synergies.

At the centre of the vision is the Garden of Memory.

To the east of the castle hill, towards Kozinec Lake, there is a large area that was one of the main inhabited areas of Doubrava. Traces of the settlement remain in the landscape in the form of fruit trees planted along the boundaries of the land, which can also be seen on the cadastral map.

We propose to transform this area into a living memorial to the devastating effects of subsidence on the development of the village. The plots of former gardens would each be planted with a different type of flower, creating a colourful field of flowers.

Where the dwellings used to be, we would create solitary buildings in the shape of the former farmhouses, in white, raised to the heights where they were originally located. The objects will float on the glass ground floor and will serve as exhibitions or as a backdrop to a garden of memory.

The garden will be a distinctive element of the cultural landscape. It will be connected by footpaths to the open-air museum of mining life and to the Kozince area with its campsite and nature trail.

Urban study