Gregor Mendel lived in the 1800s in what is now the Czech Repbulic.  In preparation for the exhibition at The Field Museum, I was lucky enough to visit Mendel’s boyhood home and the Abbey in Brno where he conducted his famous experiment.  Wow!
Photos of Mendel’s Home and Abbey
 
Boyhood Home Gregor Mendel grew up in this house in a hamlet that is now called Hyncice, Czech Republic. This house is now a modest memorial to his life and work. Those who make the trek must stop at the tiny store down the hill from the house. The shopkeeper takes the key from her drawer and leads you into the Mendel home. Then she locks up when you leave. Notice the snow on the ground—this picture was taken in March. We know what that’s like in Chicago. Family Furniture This colorful chest and a stove are the only items in the house that remain from the time of Mendel’s family. The house also contains a small display about Mendel’s life and work. Augustinian Abbey, Brno The Augustinian friars moved into this old Abbey in 1783. The Abbey hit hard times in the 1900s—the friars were persecuted by the Nazis during World War II and then pushed completely out by the Communist government, which used the buildings for a variety of nonreligious purposes. In 1989 the Augustinians returned. The current Abbot has been restoring the Abbey and has established a museum to honor Mendel. Formal Library This is the formal room of the Abbey library. In Mendel’s day, the library held about 30,000 books. During the years of Communism, the library was one of the few holdings of the Abbey that was not redistributed elsewhere. The Abbot told our group that the library was considered too great a treasure to break apart. Secret Door in Library A bookshelf in the formal library wall opens up to reveal a hidden door that leads to the main stacks of the library’s holdings. Not as fancy as the first room, this area is where the friars did most of their work. Where Mendel Worked Mendel is said to have done his work at this window, looking out onto the Abbey courtyard. He would have used a desk similar to this one and worked by natural light or candlelight. Window Frame Look how thick this wall is. The air was colder inside the house than it was out. Cowboy Books???? Most of the library shelves are filled with centuries-old volumes written in Czech and German. In the very back room, however, is the private book stash of an abbot from the early 1900s who seemed to have a fondness for American cowboy novels. Go figure!
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Photos by Cheryl Bardoe