Czech forest settlement Čunčí huba celebrates one hundred years

Residents of the forest settlement Čunčí Huba, located near Kytín in the Czech Republic, celebrated a century of community life and tradition.

Milan Derner and his family operate the U Dernerů pub, which serves as the heart of the settlement. The establishment began as a small kiosk that a grandmother saved from demolition during the previous regime.

Marta Dernerová, who joined the family business in 1995, expanded the space into a heated dining room where they now serve hot meals and homemade cakes to tourists and locals. The settlement has evolved from a remote outpost where only a few people lived during harsh winters into a popular destination for cyclists and hikers. While the community preserves its rugged history, including a tradition of carrying rifles, it now relies heavily on visitors to sustain the local pub.

The family business includes the help of Marta's sons, Honza and Tomáš, and a chef named Matěj Matějka. The history of Čunčí Huba is rooted in a fraternal society that established strict rules for membership. To join, men had to pass a four-stage test, which included drinking ten glasses of cognac in 50 minutes without food. The group also established a rule that membership could never be canceled, a tradition that remains a point of pride for the community today.