Beer, good food, a concert, an exhibition. All of it in the orchard behind our factory. That's exactly what the opening of Kempus na poli looked like. From July, anyone can come and stay with us in a tent, caravan or motorhome. And we also ha
Beer, good food, a concert, an exhibition. All of it in the orchard behind our factory. That's exactly what the opening of Kempus na poli looked like. From July, anyone can come to us with a tent, caravan or motorhome. And for the most demanding travellers, we also offer apartment cabins.
Operating information can be found here.
Curious how and why our campsite grew? For our most dedicated readers, we offer a detailed look back.
How to grow a campsite behind the factory
Winter 2019. We're sitting around wondering what it would be like to have our own orchard. There used to be one here once. Could it be brought back? Below the last hall, towards the stream, there's a patch of green in front of the grain field. It's nothing much, but it could work. We buy our first saplings. 48 in total.
By now it's spring 2020. We plant two rows of 19 saplings each. Mostly blackthorn, with a few apricots between them. The spacing is huge. The rows are seven metres apart, and there's a six-metre gap between individual trees. Isn't that a waste of space? No. Even the largest motorhome fits into a little pen like that, bordered by three blackthorns and one apricot. Not to mention tents and vans. No proper way to drive in, no electricity hook-up, and a factory hall on the left? So what. Looking right, the Chřiby hills open up before you. With Holý kopec, Buchlov and Barborka. Anyone who's ever seen those three tightly knit peaks on the horizon never quite gets them out of their head.
Autumn 2021. Voles are wreaking havoc, and we have to replace a few saplings. But more importantly – we plant another 48. We leave room for a path and two more rows appear. We shift them slightly out of line so they form a winding pattern. Again mostly blackthorn and apricots, but now we add a few cherries too. For this we take a strip from the field for the orchard, and our green area grows.
Spring 2022. Whatever didn't take, we plant again. By summer we're already popping the first sloes straight into our mouths and thinking about what's next. Our outdoor furniture starts appearing in the grass between the trees, and we test out Leva cube modules there too. When we close our eyes, we can already see the campsite.
Summer 2022. We install the Ulita in the orchard. Our solution for full-fledged living in 25 square metres. Along with it, we brought drinking water in among the trees and built small utility points with electricity. More furniture arrived, along with more Leva cubes. In the autumn we add apple trees and round the total number of trees up to an even hundred. The rows are now visible from both roads – both the one between Březolupy and Bílovice, and the path that cuts into the hillside. Behind it lie the hidden villages of Kněžpole and Topolná. During WiFič VEN! the orchard is packed. Camper vans, cars with built-in conversions, tents. Anyone who's experienced it knows. The atmosphere of our outdoor gathering was at its strongest in the campsite. And that goes double in the morning. The sun first reaches between our trees by climbing over the ridge of the Prakšice highlands. Then it moves towards Bílovice, leans against Javorovec, and wakes even the deepest sleepers. You squint into the sunlight, taking in every detail of the painting stretching to the horizon. Breakfast hanging on the car's wing mirror. A little further along, coffee is already brewing. You join them.
Autumn 2022 to spring 2023. We keep replacing whatever the voles or the drought destroyed. We're now holding steady at the final number of trees. We build toilets and showers. We work out what's needed to turn our orchard into a proper campsite.
Spring 2024. We sort out access to the campsite, add more infrastructure, and negotiate with the authorities…
June 2024. Welcome to Kempus na poli.
