2. 3. 2002 Calendary

2.3.2002 Cards hundreds of years old

Categories: Finds and rescue research in the Czech Republic , Calendar

Nineteen years ago, an archaeologist and accidental finder in Olomouc made an interesting discovery. They found playing cards hundreds of years old in the vaults of historic buildings and in the rubble of a historic house.

The first to come across the cards was a private collector Vladimír Gračka, who found a tarot ace and king in the rubble of a reconstructed house in Pavelčák Street. He discovered them completely by chance while going through the rubble that the craftsmen were dumping into a container. He was pleasantly surprised.

"It was clear from the design that the cards came from a better company," said the lucky finder, who found the cards from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The cards came from the house where the inn was located 500 years ago.

Archaeologist Karel Faltýnek then found more cards in the bell tower of St Michael's Church. He discovered the Queen of Spades and the Nine of Hearts in the vaults. He revealed at the time that they were French playing cards and both were hand-coloured. "The lady's figure corresponds stylistically and iconographically to the 16th to 17th century," Faltýnek said at the time.

The unique playing cards from the mid-sixteenth century were also discovered in 2010 by staff at the Olomouc Research Library. They found them quite by accident during the restoration of a Latin book on minerals. Photos of previously found cards in Olomouc can no longer be traced).

As in the previous two cases, the library staff came across the cards quite accidentally, as they served as a reinforcement for the front cover of the book. "During the restoration we noticed the printed paper. So we took a closer look and discovered the playing cards," said Rostislav Krušinský from the Olomouc Research Library at the time.

The cards are reminiscent of today's mariachi cards, but they are only black and white. They came to Europe during the Crusades. Soldiers, nobility, clergy and common people liked them. The first references to them appear in the fourteenth century in the writings of clergymen who fought against the spreading vice called gambling.

It should still be true that the oldest playing cards were found by monuments in Prague. It dates from around 1550. It was in the sixteenth century that playing cards began to be produced in the Czech lands. Until then, they were imported from Austria.

Sources: Olomoucky den, www.sumpersko.net, www.denik.cz

The article is included in categories:

Post

There is no post in the chat.

Add post

You must subscribe to post. If you do not have an account on this site yet, sign up.

↑ Back to top + See more

Back to top