Včelín

Včelín in Milíčeves is a small brick outbuilding built specifically for beekeeping, now protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. It stands in the village of Milíčeves, part of the Slatiny municipality in the Jičín district of the Hradec Králové Region, and ranks among the rare Czech examples of a farm building designed from the ground up purely to house bees.

What exactly is this building?

A včelín is a farmstead building constructed to hold beehives and support honey production. Unlike an ordinary shed or barn pressed into service for bees, this structure and its interior were purpose-built for beekeeping from the start — which is precisely why it's such an unusual survivor nationwide. It formed part of a larger farmstead and also doubled as a gathering spot for local residents.

When was it built, and by whom?

The building went up between 1860 and 1870, designed by the builder Jan Krejcar. Its owner was likely Jan Smolař. After the First World War, the farmstead and its včelín were bought by Vladimír Syrovátko, a Volhynian Czech, who partly repaired the building and kept bees there himself until the 1950s.

How many bees lived here?

At its peak, the building held as many as 108 beehives, a scale that points to serious honey production on site. By the time Vladimír Syrovátko ran it, the number had dropped to around fifty bee colonies — modest by comparison, but still enough to keep the včelín functioning as a working apiary for decades.

What does the inside look like?

The rear section of the včelín contained the space needed for processing honey — an area for extraction and storage. Combining the hive chamber with this working section under a single roof was typical of the best-designed 19th-century beekeeping buildings, and it's exactly this layout that gives the structure its heritage value.

Why is this site unusual?

Buildings raised from scratch purely for beekeeping are uncommon in the Czech Republic — most historical apiaries were tucked into makeshift sheds or farm outbuildings never meant for the job. The včelín in Milíčeves is one of the few surviving examples built specifically for this purpose, which is exactly why it was listed as a cultural monument.

Frequently asked questions

What is a včelín? It's a brick farm building built to house beehives and process honey, purpose-designed for beekeeping rather than adapted from an ordinary shed.

When was the včelín in Milíčeves built? Between 1860 and 1870, designed by the builder Jan Krejcar.

How many beehives did the building hold? Originally as many as 108, though under its later owner Vladimír Syrovátko it housed around fifty bee colonies.

Until when was it used as a working apiary? Vladimír Syrovátko kept bees in the building until the 1950s.

Why is it protected as a monument? Because of its rare architectural specialization — the building was designed exclusively for beekeeping, complete with a dedicated section for honey processing, something seldom seen in Czech farm architecture.