Ornateness wherever you look
There are few places where you will find such picturesque scenes. Baroque homesteads with decorative gables, expansive ponds, forests full of wildlife, and vast fields that provided locals with their livelihood. And what a livelihood it was! The soil in South Bohemian Blata was very fertile; former peat bogs were perfect for growing grains, fruits, and vegetables. The region was one of the wealthiest in Bohemia. Peasants showed off their successes openly: their festive clothing was extraordinarily ornate. Embroidered “fěrtochy” (aprons), bodices, laces, coins, beads – all became part of the Blata folk costumes.
Blata also had its dialect. According to local stories, even the elderly “plachtařky” would sing. During fish harvests, they stood by the vats and loaded the catches into wooden containers (plachetky) similar to barrels (lejta) on ox and horse-drawn carts. They then took the fish to the fish farms. If you are lucky, you can still hear some of the fishermen's songs in Blata, including the local dialect.
