This basalt rock that resembles a cat lying down, after which it is named, is situated in a meadow between Litoměřice and Žitenice. It commemorates not only the time during the Tertiary period when there were cinnamon trees growing and sabre-toothed tigers roaming in our lands, but also much later visitors, who held collectors’ expeditions, excursions and trips here (at the end of the Quaternary) in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century. Most of them were members of the North Bohemian Excursion Association, which was made up of local researchers, collectors, scholars and enthusiasts.

The Kočka rock is like a magnet in the landscape and so it is no wonder that it has attracted excursions and individual visitors. These include, for example, the grammar school professor from Litoměřice Robert Klutchak (1823–1903), who was like a forerunner of the kind, rather confused, but highly erudite professor of biology in the famous film Cesta do hlubiny študákovy duše (Journey into the Depth of the Student's Soul). Prof. Klutchak instilled his own love and enthusiasm for nature in his students and in his time was the leading expert on the nature of the local area. He described the flora of the Central Bohemian Highlands. It was from Kočka that he brought some valuable finds for the cabinet of the Litoměřice grammar school. Rare minerals of the zeolite group can be found at Kočka, as well as calcite crystals in the basalt cavities. Fritz Leitenberger (1857–1910) , a local collector and mineral dealer, even had the site blasted in order to obtain new minerals. Rare specimens were bought from him by individuals and museums. Local collectors also used to come to seek finds here, including the court clerk Julius Frieser (1843–1908), who was usually accompanied by the gifted Litoměřice grammar school student Felix Cornu (1882–1909); every major excursion or science outing also stopped here (most with professor Robert Klutchak as their guide).

A love of nature and collecting minerals led to the formation of an interesting network of people throughout the whole of the area (Nord-Böhmen), who greatly contributed to the scientific knowledge of both the Bohemian flora and the geology of the region. Thanks to the association’s activities numerous geological sites were saved from being mined out, such as the Vrkoč waterfall, Radobýl hill and the famous basalt columns of Mansion Rock, the protection of which ws advocated in the contemporary press by figures such as G. C. Laube, J. E. Hibsch, as well as R. Klutchak.

While Czech university geology tended to stagnate in the early 20th century after the deaths of great figures such as Krejčí, it developed to a high standard on the non-academic ground of the actual Central Highlands, and nature conservation still draws on their research to this day.

Radoň, M.: Profesor Robert Klutschak (1823–1903) – znalec českého středohoří, Zprávy a studie Regionálního muzea v Teplicích 25, 2003.

Radoň, M.: Georg Bruder – geolog a pedagog, Zprávy a studie Regionálního muzea v Teplicích 26, 2006.

Radoň, M.: Franz Wolf von Wolfinau – geolog a středoškolský profesor z Litoměřic, Zprávy a studie Regionálního muzea v Teplicích 27, 2008.

Radoň, M.: Fritz Leitenberger (1857–1910) – obchodník s minerály z Litoměřic, Zprávy a studie Regionálního muzea v Teplicích 27, 2008.

 

 

Radoň, M.: Julius Frieser – soudní úředník a sběratel minerálů, Zprávy a studie Regionálního muzea v Teplicích 31, 2016.