The rebirth of a village
A CHARISMATIC PRIEST HAS TURNED A ONCE-ABANDONED VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC INTO A COMMUNITY FOR SOME OF ITS MOST MARGINALISED CITIZENS
After the revolution there was a lot of euphoria,” says Father Josef Suchár. “My mission was simple: to bring life back to Neratov village.”
Bringing life back to the village meant rolling up his sleeves and doing it himself. Neratov was destroyed by war and the communist rule of the mid-20th century. Its baroque church, a site of historic pilgrimage, was ruined by a missile fired by a drunken soldier. By the time communism ended in Czechoslovakia in 1989, the village had a population of just two people.
“No matter how ruined everything was, I knew it was special. There was something mystical about this place,” says Father Josef. Shortly after the fall of communism, he was assigned the parish that contained the ruined Neratov. He pledged to rebuild the village and turn it into a place of safety and community for people with disabilities. “Disabled people in our society had been used and abandoned, just like this church and this village. If we were going to repair the village, we must also repair the people,” he says.
At first Father Josef had the support of just a few volunteers, clearing the burnt-out church by hand. Over the years, more people came and now, 30 years later, the village is unrecognisable. The imposing church has been resurrected; a microbrewery opened in 2018. Handsome alpine cottages with neat gardens of lavender and geraniums are dotted about.
Today, 80 per cent of Neratov’s residents are people living with mental or physical disabilities, many of whom are employed by its various businesses. David Havlíček, who has learning disabilities, works in the microbrewery, helping to produce beer that’s sold all over the Czech Republic. He moved to the village four years ago at the age of
26, having lived in institutions or psychiatric wards since he was eight. He’s passionate about his job. “I’m learning new skills so that I can lead an independent life,” he says. “My future is Neratov. I definitely don’t want to leave.”