“Hop Anchor” sculpture with a plaque commemorating Antonín Mohl in Louny

1886 (instalation 1986) 

This massive granite block, weighing eleven tons and accompanied by an iron sculpture, is called the “Hop Anchor”. The monument was unveiled to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the Winter Economic School in Louny in 1986. On the left-hand side of the block there is a plaque commemorating the school’s first director, the pioneer of the Czech science of hop-growing, Antonín Mohl (1859–1924). The monument is the work of the Louny artist Vladislav Mirvald.

 

Antonín Mohl was born in Chlumčany near Louny and after studying at the Prague Polytechnic and the school of economics in Královec (now Kaliningrad), he served as the director of the Winter Economic School in Louny from 1889 to 1897. He then spent a brief time running the flax school in Humpolec and in 1900 settled permanently in Rakovník, where he managed the Agricultural and Economic School. During this time Mohl was also involved in politics. He was a member of the state parliament for the Agrarian Party from 1903 to 1913. He died in January 1924 and is buried in the family tomb at the cemetery in Rakovník.

In his professional life Mohl focused primarily on the study and development of hop-growing. He contributed articles to Chmelařské listy, the professional hop-growers’ journal, which he established. He set up hop-growing courses in the Winter Economic School in Louny, open to all. He also cultivated varieties in experimental hop gardens, and introduced the use of fertilisers. In 1894 he founded the Czech Hop Growers´ Association for the Kingdom of Bohemia. He is also the author of several publications, most notably Chmelařství [Hop-growing], which first came out in 1897.

The “Hop Anchor” monument was originally installed in the courtyard of the Louny business academy, which formerly housed the Winter Economic School. In 2014 the monument was moved to a concrete pedestal in the little park between the streets Na Valích and Osvoboditelů, where it is more easily accessible for the public. This move was initiated by Louny Town Council. A plaque with information about the sculptor, the Louny teacher and artist Mirvald, was later added to the original plaque commemorating Antonín Mohl as the “father of Czech hop-growing”.

 

References

Roedl, B.: Antonín Mohl (Významné osobnosti města Louny). URL: https://www.louny.eu/osobnosti/antonin-mohl/457/ [25. 5. 2021].
Mohl, A.: Z minulosti českého chmelařství. Louny 1896. 

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