The bust of chemist and brewer Otakar Zachar (1870-1921) is in Kladno-Kročehlavy on the building of the former gatehouse of the brewery, which Otakar Zachar ran from 1898 until his death in 1921. In addition to his scientific work in the field of brewing and technical chemistry, Zachar also worked on important topics in the history of natural sciences, such as the history of alchemy.

The building of the Kročehlavy brewery was rented by Otakar Zachar`s father in 1882 and his son took over the brewery in 1898. He was very well prepared to run the brewery thanks to his studies in brewing and malting at the Czech Technical University in Prague. Scientifically, Zachar was mainly concerned with the field of bacteriology and fermentation chemistry, but his great interests also included the history of chemistry/alchemy. Zachar was already attracted to this topic during his studies in Prague and from 1896 he published a number of popular scientific articles on the history of alchemy and chemistry. This publishing activity - also supplemented by book production - continued after he took over the brewery in 1898. On the first floor of the Kročehlavy brewery building was Zachar`s spacious apartment, where Zachar not only worked but also collected paintings purchased mainly from Mikoláš Aleš. Aleš also illustrated some of Zachar`s publications.

The bust of Otakar Zachar was unveiled on the premises of the brewery on the building of the former gatehouse on the initiative of the Otakar Kročehlavy Association on 15 September 2018. Its author is the sculptor and ceramicist Jaromír Huja from Kladno.

Connected places: Otakar Zachar
Commemorative Plaque to Otakar Zachar in TočníkPamětní deska Otakara Zachara v Točníku

Keywords: alchemy; inorganic chemistry; history of natural sciences; hermetic sciences; organic chemistry; history of alchemy; brewing and technical chemistry

Bust of Otakar Zachar in Kladno-Kročehlavy