Štěpán Javůrek: Objevte Chaloupky a Krušné hory

Books by Štěpán Javůrk connect like neighboring cottages: each one has its own entrance and its own light shining from the window, yet together they create a single street—an avenue filled with stories about home, memory, and people who have never abandoned their mountains. Discover them and the Ore Mountains through the Boredom Road series called Czechia Between the Lines.

Štěpán Javůrek and the Ore Mountains as a literary landscape

In the novels Cottages, Heaven Above Pernink, and the trilogy Sudeten House, you will experience the Erzgebirge as a landscape that invites both reading and walking. Javůrek’s perspective is deeply rooted in the land: he does not portray the Sudetenland as a distant or exotic place, nor does he treat it merely as a backdrop for his stories. Instead, his writing immerses itself in the mud and snow, capturing vanished settlements and the life of today with the keen awareness of someone who understands both the map and the people.

Cottages reveals the charm of the valley, where silence acts as a friend and time feels like a partner. Connections with family and neighbors matter just as much as the stream’s gentle flow or the shade provided by trees. The sky above Pernink adds a sense of height and perspective: Pernink becomes more than a mere mark on the map; it transforms into a view into both past and future, a gathering place where stories naturally intersect at the station and the pub. Furthermore, it serves as a backdrop for a contemporary novel, attracting those who aren’t particularly interested in history. A Sudeten House contains everything within its walls: it tells a story of how a house transcends mere architecture. It becomes an archive, demonstrating that the beams and thresholds recall more than what family records can capture.

The shared theme in Javůrek’s novels is not nostalgia; rather, it’s the bravery to confront reality: themes of displacement and return, hard work in mines and forests, borders that shift on maps and in the lives of people alike.

Cottages: the valley that teaches you to slow down

The initial book unfolds the world of the valley, where silence becomes a companion and time serves as a partner—where family and community connections are just as significant as the babbling of the stream and the cooling shade of the forest. Cottages explores the delicacy of home and how the landscape shapes human choices. It’s not just a pretty postcard; it’s more like a diary of a place that has its own unique rhythm of life.
Javůrek masterfully writes in the “Ore Mountains style”: with restraint, gentle humor, and without dramatic flair. When he intensifies his prose, it’s for the sake of the characters, not for theatricality. When he tones it down, he allows for moments of silence, mist, and familiar scents that anyone who has inhaled chilly winter air wrapped in a scarf can recognize. He even explains why certain places mean more than just a pleasant hike to him. In a social media post, he spoke about the valley at the end of the world that he loves to return to: “After some time back at Chaloupky. For me, this is one of the most stunning places in the world. I am not exaggerating when I say that this valley has genuinely transformed my life. It was here I found the courage to write my first book. So I visit from time to time to express my gratitude… and to gather my thoughts.”

How to travel in the Ore Mountains?

Ideally, with a book in your hand. This is essential for Series Czech between the lines: the locations mentioned are not just backdrops; they serve as prompts. Cottages will draw you into the valley, prompting you to slow down and lower your speaking volume. The sky above Pernink guides readers to the ridge where the wind dances with the horizon, into villages that have learned to endure long winters and short summers. Sudeten House encourages exploration of architectural clues: gables, cellars, and floors traversed by countless feet—both local and foreign—sending shivers down your spine even in the heat of July. Here, Czech and German ancestors, miners, woodcutters, those who have departed, and those who have stayed all converge; among them are the current inhabitants of the Erzgebirge who hold dearly onto their land.

Reading Maple Leaf serves as a straightforward guide, to understanding these mountains. Pack Javůrek’s novels in your backpack and explore the places they depict: the Cottage Valley a short distance from Přebuzi, the area around Pernink, Hřebečná, Ryžovna, and the ridge where the wind whispers, along with houses that have endured and others that exist only in memory, not on the map. Take your time. Rest by the stream, in the village square, or beneath the wayside cross. And when you return, let the echo of silence that Javůrek captures so eloquently linger in your ears for a little while longer.

Who is Štěpán Javůrek?

Štěpán Javůrek (*1987) is a writer and director of the Destination Agency Erzgebirge, and a proud representative from the Karlovy Vary Region. He was born in Ústí nad Labem and spent his childhood and teenage years in Chomutov. After finishing high school, he embarked on a journey to discover “his place” in the world, studying and gathering experiences both locally and abroad. He lived for several years in Chodov near Karlovy Vary before relocating to Jáchymov in the Ore Mountains, where he currently resides. Since 2023, he has been directing the Destination Agency of the Erzgebirge. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking in the mountains, warming up, running, and traveling.

He pens books that tell stories about human destinies, often involving difficult histories and the Ore Mountains; his writings also reflect his travels and experiences from distant lands. His work, especially the book The Fates of the Erzgebirge, stands out. Twenty stories from the history of the Ore Mountains serve as silent witnesses to significant events that have unfolded on the Old Continent over the centuries. His work features beautiful landscapes, significant natural treasures of European importance, and technical monuments that recall the region’s rich mining heritage, along with valleys that used to be bustling villages, now echoing their past splendor, as well as lookout towers which were built by the early tourism promoters.

Perhaps that is the enchanting allure of the Ore Mountains: even though many things have evolved, they continue to invoke a sense of calm and compel you to listen closely. Everything here may be fading gradually, but The memory of the mountains is stronger than stone—anyone who hears it will be drawn back again.