Václav Zeman

Russian Emperor Alexander II on July 10, 1870 approved the Committee of Ministers' provision on the settlement of Czechs in the Volhynia Governorate. It was a statement of fact: Czechs had begun moving to Volhynia even earlier, after the 1861 reform. They were attracted here by the cheapness of land, the fertility of the soil, the small number of industrial enterprises, the insufficient development of trade and the low culture of farming, as well as relatively low taxes. And Volhynia was closer than America, where Czechs were migrating—closer in geographical distance, language, faith, and culture. Václav Zeman chose Lutsk, having bought a plot of land in Yaryvtsia from the Hursky family for the construction of a brewery. His first factory, built in 1888, was wooden and small, and employed 5–6 workers. The entrepreneur himself lived with his family on his own land, in his own house at the factory. There was also a beer shop there, where always fresh beer was sold. It enjoyed ever-growing demand. By the end of the 19th century, the factory’s annual output amounted to 45,000 rubles. A private Zeman railway car ran between Kyiv and Brest; at every station, excellent Czech beer was sold. Zeman rebuilt rather quickly. Two years later, he erected a new modern building, unprecedented until then in Volhynia. On the pediment of the main production building, the reconstruction date was laid in relief masonry: 1908, along with the initials of the plant owner: V.J.Z. By 1913 the plant was operating at full capacity. They produced four varieties of beer: "Stolove," "Sakura," "Granat," and the highest quality — "Bock-Bier." Everyone loves beer. Therefore, destruction bypassed the plant during the First World War, during the October coup and after it. Only during the Great Patriotic War was the plant partially destroyed, but its main building and main production facilities still function to this day. To cool beer in summer, ice was harvested on the Styr River in winter. Huge blocks were covered with sawdust, which protected the ice from melting, and taken to the icehouse to be used as needed during hot weather. In this way, anyone who wanted to could earn money from Zeman without working in his production. Zeman's beer was exported abroad, in particular to France. Among the cities of Volhynia, the largest consumer was Kovel. By the way, Lutsk received beer from other cities for sale; in particular, the joint-stock company "Bergshlos" from Rivne supplied its products to Volhynia, and on Boleslaw the Brave Street (now Voli Avenue) there was a beer wholesale warehouse of the Lviv Joint-Stock Brewers' Company. In the late 1930s, when Václav Zeman was already over eighty, his son-in-law Josef Malínský increasingly helped him with production matters; from 1938 he became the owner of the factory and the continuer of his father-in-law’s business. In the State Archive of Volyn Oblast, a certificate is preserved that was issued to Zeman Ivan (Jan; born 25 April 1891), certifying that he lives in the colony of Hushcha, Kivertsi Raion, is a brewer, and manages a hop point in Lutsk (has worked there since 20 November 1942). At that point, traces of the Zeman family in Lutsk are lost. It was only at the end of 2003 that we received two family photographs of the Zemans from Mrs. Zhakova of Prague. Unfortunately, Mrs. Zhakova does not say who exactly gave her these photographs; she only notes that finding anyone from these families [the Zemans and the Malinskys – Author] was not easy. We hope that perhaps someday someone will respond to our publications [Pushkar N., Dmytruk V. Lutsk beer from Václav Zeman // Pro-Business (Lutsk). - 2002. - December] and someone from the family that left behind in Lutsk a wonderful monument—the Lutsk Brewery (current address: 69 Vynnychenka Street). As of January 24, 1941, the Lutsk brewery had fulfilled the task by 105.5%. But Mr. Wacław’s soul had already departed... In the mid-1990s, the brewery found itself in a crisis situation, which seemed to last a long time. 2004: the first stage of the enterprise reconstruction was completed, OJSC "Lutsk Brewery" registered the trademark of its product "ZEMAN", and the production of three types of "ZEMAN" beer began. Live beer is sold in more than one hundred settlements in the region. Now Zeman's brewery has received a chance to revive the traditions of Czech brewers. Valeriy Dmytruk, Nataliia Pushkar