History
Anna and Rudolf Formanovi were pioneers of tourism at Mácha Lake. They built the first Czech pension here. The family treasure on the lakeshore is still run by the Forman family today.
Room number 16 at Pension Rut on the prestigious Lázeňský vrch street in Staré Splavy by Mácha Lake is today rented out to guests. After 1945, however, it had one permanent resident. It belonged to a thirteen-year-old boy named Miloš Forman, the future world-renowned film director.
His older brothers inherited from their parents in Staré Splavy the Pension Rut — the first Czech pension at Mácha Lake. A beautiful building whose story vividly illustrates the joys and tragedies that befell the family of the Oscar-winning director.
The perfect spot
It is 1926. At a stunning location on the shores of Mácha Lake, Anna and Rudolf Formanovi build their villa. It is their beloved place. Rudolf had discovered it: during the war he had served with an infantry regiment in Česká Lípa, and in the area around Doksy he was stationed with the army on manoeuvres. He showed this wonderful spot to his sweetheart — Anna.
"My great-grandmother was a great visionary. She bought one of the first plots of land here, so she was able to choose the very best location. Construction began in 1926."
Using the house as a pension was a pioneering step by Anna Formanová. Although Staré Splavy had been becoming a popular holiday resort since the early 20th century, that promising development had been interrupted by the First World War. The Forman pension was the first Czech pension at what is now known as Mácha Lake.
The Čapek brothers came too
Pension Rut thrived in those years. It became a gathering place of the Czech intelligentsia, a patriotic retreat. A great many interesting people came here. In the old visitors' book, which we keep at home in Čáslav, one can find famous names. Among the guests were the Čapek brothers, as well as the founding members of the newly established Russian Alexandrov Ensemble.
The lake went by various names at the time. In the German-speaking Doksy area, the most common name was Hiršperský rybník. Rudolf Forman disliked this. So he wrote an article in the local newspaper proposing that the lake be renamed after the celebrated Romantic poet. And the name Mácha Lake caught on.
After the Germans came the ROH
The parents of brothers Blahoslav, Pavel and Miloš were sent to concentration camps. They never returned from Auschwitz and Buchenwald. After the war the brothers had to carry on their parents' dream alone. But it did not last long. In 1950 the pension was seized by the trade union ROH, and Pension Rut became a workers' holiday home.
The pension was returned to the Formans in 1991. Its revival was largely arranged by Boženka, the wife of the eldest of the Forman brothers. Pavel and Miloš supported her from afar — from Australia and the United States.
Through the years
Pension founded
Anna and Rudolf Formanovi build a family villa on the shores of Mácha Lake. Anna was a great visionary — she bought one of the first plots of land and could choose the very best location.
First guest – Milošek
The first entry in the pension's visitors' book from 1932 reads: "Our first guest in 1932 — our Milošek. Best of luck!!!" The celebrated director Miloš Forman is born.
Munich Agreement
Czechoslovakia ceded its borderlands to Germany. The Forman pension suddenly found itself on German territory.
Wartime hardship
In 1940 the Gestapo arrested Rudolf Forman. Two years later the Gestapo also arrested Anna Formanová and the Germans took over the pension. Both parents perished in concentration camps.
End of the war
After the war, brothers Blahoslav, Pavel and Miloš had to continue their parents' dream on their own. Thirteen-year-old Miloš was given room number 16.
Nationalisation
The pension was seized by the ROH — the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement — and Pension Rut was turned into a workers' holiday home.
Return to the family
The pension was returned to the Formans. Its revival was largely arranged by Boženka, the wife of the eldest of the Forman brothers. Pavel and Miloš supported her from Australia and the United States.
Fourth generation
Adam Forman, great-grandson of the founders and grandson of Blahoslav Forman, carries on the family tradition and welcomes guests as the fourth generation of the family.
100 years of the pension
Pension RUT celebrates one hundred years of unbroken family tradition on the shores of Mácha Lake — and writes the next chapter of its story.
The Forman brothers
Blahoslav Forman
The oldest of the three brothers, born in 1917 in Česká Lípa. A scout at heart, founder of the Scout Forest School at Mácha Lake, an amateur documentary filmmaker and a passionate mountaineer — and it was the mountains that proved fatal to him. Blahoslav died tragically on 29 June 1961 during an ill-fated expedition to Ďumbier in Slovakia.
Pavel Forman
An academic painter, he emigrated in 1968 with his family to Australia, where he devoted himself entirely to his artistic vocation. He is regarded as one of the most significant landscape painters from the school of Otakar Nejedlý. His works are represented in numerous collections around the world. Pension Rut is also his personal gallery. Pavel passed away in Brisbane, Australia in 2008.
Miloš Forman
The youngest of the brothers remained in the United States after he was denied the right to return to Czechoslovakia in 1967. He went on to have a hugely successful directing career in the USA. A two-time Academy Award winner for Best Director (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus).
www.milosforman.comText by: Michael Polak
From the family archive
