A new book by historian Petra Schindler-Wisten of the Centre for Oral History of the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences examines the wider context of this phenomenon. She is interested in what caused it before 1968 and how this tradition has been kept alive after 1989.
She endeavours to find out about its importance for individuals and families, asks how the owners of holiday homes perceived themselves, and how this activity affected their leisure time. In the end, she poses the question why Czech society is still considered to be a 'holiday home nation'.
The author, who generally pursues a historical-anthropological approach, seeks the answers to these questions largely in her own oral-historical research, which she supplements with other types of sources.