The Beautiful Garden She Left Behind

A theatrical production inspired by the life of Czech baroness Sidonie Nádherná of Borutín (1885-1950). The play captures her final years and draws on historical sources, scholarly publications, and extensive correspondence. After World War II and the death of her closest relatives, Sidonie desperately tried to save the family estate - a castle and castle park in Vrchotové Janovice - acutely aware of their historical, cultural, and social significance for future generations.

The struggle is documented primarily through correspondence with art historian and State Heritage Office official Václav Wagner, which captures Sidonie's authentic views and attitudes toward the political and social changes during and after the war. The correspondence is complemented by diary entries, personal letters, and literary works by two figures with whom Sidonie maintained close relationships - poet Rainer Maria Rilke and writer Karel Kraus.

The production is also a paraphrase of today's relationship with cultural and historical values, monuments, and collective memory. The fight to save the castle and garden is compared to the contemporary struggle to preserve cultural heritage and culture in Slovakia.