Petr’s family is a time-honoured family of peasants located in a small village Bruzovice in Silesian region. The first Petr living in Bruzovice was back in 1610. They were a proud people, very nationalistic and educated in the Biblicalworld view. Dr. Augustin Petr (born in 1824) studied medicine in Vienna. Later on he ran his medical practice in a city of Frýdek-Místek (10km from Bruzovice). He was very active in a public life and cultural scene. He organised many events based on spreading Czech awareness in combination with traditional gatherings full of performances and singing. He also took a part in the process of opening a first library. The influence on his nephew Ondřej Boleslav Petr is clearly important. Ondřej and his brother JUDr. Jan Petr continued as an active figures in a public life of the city of Frýdek-Místek and the village of Bruzovice. The photos in this album come from their third brother František and mostly depict a life in Bruzovice around 1900.

The old town of Frýdek-Místek in it’s bloom. Back then a small city was an important place of pilgrimage. Believers from the whole region would come to the basilica of St. Mary for their prayers. The coal industry had an important role in the region. In the nearby villages a mining pits were located.

I followed the steps of Bezruč mainly around the city of Frýdek-Místek. The city and the whole region is very influenced by the figure of Petr Bezruč. You can feel his presence on every step of the way. The communist regime in Czechoslovakia awarded Bezruč the title of national artist. They built plenty of monuments including his sculptures, busts, stones with the famous verses and more. Almost every middle-aged inhabitant of Silesian region is able to recite a few verses from Silesian songs. Almost every bigger city has a street named “Bezručova”. Even though a lot has changed after more than 125 years, the fields, forests and hills are still the same.

Plenty of institutions took Bezruč’s name for their own. I attended both elementary and grammar school named after Petr Bezruč. As a free time activity we performed with other kids from acting school in a cinema of Petr Bezruč. I paid a subscription to a theater of Petr Bezruč. There is a library in Opava, hotel in Malenovice, a cottage in Ostravice and a sightseeing point next to Frýdek-Místek devoted to him.