Kozlovice
How beautiful you are, my native village, like a bride who instead of a
myrtle crown wears a crown of mountains and valleys and the glow of rosy dawn, a
tiara of dew scattered in the hair …
(František Radvanský, Chronicler of Kozlovice 1937–1981)
To this day, local patriots hold discussions about whether the Frenštát slopes of Beskydy where Čeladná, Hukvaldy, Kozlovice and Hodslavice lie are rather a part of Wallachia or Lachia. The oldest citizens consider Kozlovice to be a Wallachian village, influenced by Wallachian traditions and Lachian dialect. And besides, the former bailiff of Kozlovice, Jan Borák, expressed it in a clear and brief manner as early as in 1891: “We in Kozlovice, we here are Wallachians, those in Rychaltice they are not Wallachians, they are Lachians…!”
The village of Kozlovice is also called “The Hamlet of Wallachian Voivodes”. The first written mention of the Wallachian Voivode of Kozlovice, the chief factor of pastoral settlements and farms, dates back to 1565. The last voivode of Kozlovice left his post in 1764. However, in the local Na mlýně premises (“At the Mill”) and Fojtství (“Bailiff’s House”) the songs and dances of the local dulcimer music band Valašský vojvoda (“The Wallachian Voivode”) can take you to the world of shepherds even today. One occasion is e.g. the international folklore festival of Christmas customs, carols and crafts, called Souznění (“Harmony”), held at several locations in Kozlovice and in Ostrava.
The visit of Kozlovice will take you not only to the roots of the Wallachian folklore tradition but also to pilgrimage places which include the charming Myslíkovské Lurdy with the statue of Virgin Mary or newly built Stations of the Cross with St. Barbara’s belfry on Skalka Hill. Kozlovice used to be also a popular place to go fishing or mushrooming. Even Jan Werich, who was an ardent angler, used to fish for trout in the rocky river bed of the Ondřejnice River. The lads of Kozlovice were able to catch trout with their bare hands under the river bank and they “weren’t ’fraid of crawfish”. In the season, trout can be found also in the mill-race of the U Mlynářky restaurant, in the Na mlýně premises. Králová hora (“King’s Hill” – 613m) nearby Kozlovice, Lhotka, Metylovice, Palkovice and Myslík has been a favourite hunt of mushroom pickers. From Kozlovice you can make several pleasant bike and foot trips using marked trails leading in all possible directions. Green hiking trail leads you through the back gate across Hukvaldy game preserve to the very centre of Hukvaldy, a birthplace of the eminent composer Leoš Janáček. If you take a walk from the Kozlovice Mill in the direction of Hukvaldy along the Ondřejnice river, you will pass the former “U Harabiša” pub. Here, Janáček used to enjoy dancing gestures of Žofka Havlová and gradually incorporated them into his passionate musical compositions, later called “The Lachian Dances”.
