Native Landscape and Family Relations

There is nothing particularly romantic or exciting—at least in the conventional sense—about the countryside in which young Bedřich Smetana spent his earliest years. It is a gracious, fertile land, stretching between the border mountains of northeastern Bohemia and the gently tapering plains of the river Labe (Elbe). The landscape is a patchwork of fields and meadows, occasionally interrupted by apple, pear, or cherry orchards, their trees either in full blossom or heavy with ripening fruit.

Here and there, darker shades of green signal pinewoods, which grow wider and denser as they approach the mountain ridges. Scattered across the slopes, valleys, and riverbanks are typical Bohemian villages. Every now and then, small but thriving towns, centuries old, dominate the landscape with their ancient church towers, castles, and modern schools. The Orlické Mountains stretch from the north to the southeast, gracing the horizon. On clear days, the mightier peaks of the Krkonoše range can be glimpsed in the distance. To the west, where the land opens into a broad plain, lie the ruins of Kunětická Hora castle and the majestic Renaissance steeples of Hradec Králové (Königgrätz), a bishopric and county seat. The rivulets and streams feeding into the Labe teem with fish, while the dense forests provide shelter for pheasants and partridges. Along the Metuje river, near the Bohemian frontier and Prussian Silesia, beneath the imposing Wallenstein's castle, lies Náchod, now known as the Czech Manchester. Not far away, past a low pass called “Branka” (Gateway), the charming town of Nové Město nad Metují sits perched on a rocky promontory.