Abstrakt
Most of the inhabitants of Krkonoše made their living by agriculture, brought by the colonists from the Alps in the second half of the 16th century. A demanding climate and low fertility of the soils did not make possible a cultivation of many products in higher altitudes.
The local inhabitants were dependent on animal husbandry, and the animals fed mostly on hay. This commodity was of crucial importance for the inhabitants of Krkonoše and influenced, among others, their economic activities, the way of management of grasslands, and also the landscape.
The timing of the haymaking period in Krkonoše oscillated in dependence to the altitude, the type of the grassland and its location. In the period between the beginning of July and the end of September most of the inhabitants of the mountains dedicated to the making of hay.
Inseparable part of haymaking was also the transportation of hay, in which several traditional means of transport were used: sledges, frame backpacks, wheelbarrows, canvases or, in lower altitudes, wagons. The decline of this specific type of agriculture came with the expulsion of German-speaking inhabitants after the World War II and the decision of the state to give priority to the water management role of mountain landscape.
At present, however, the hay-production returns partially to the higher altitudes of the mountains. Therefore, the importance of hay for people and for animals is being preserved even today.