O převracení půdy
Šárka Zahálková
Rybitví is an independent village, it is very closely connected to nearby Pardubice. It was an agricultural village situated near the Elbe River, in the vicinity of which a dense network of ponds spread in the 16th-18th centuries, which were later drained. But it is still possible to enjoy the view of the lowland panorama of fields and meadows, even though village life has been significantly influenced by the chemical industry.
The cousins František and Václav Veverka invented a plough in 1827 bearing the name of the village, but gave the design away and did not profit from their invention.
The entire old Rybitví with the adjacent Blatnikovská Lhotka disappeared from the map due to the contstruciton of chemical works. On the periphery of the village, surrounded by warehouses and industrial plants, only the backdrop of Václav Veverka’s family home remained standing - a building that after reconstruction in the 1970s did not retain much of its original appearance.
Since 2009, AGROFERT has been the 100% shareholder of the Synthesia chemical plant. The company has gradually sold off or leased many of the plots of land since the 1990s. Dust and noise from these operations are a major burden on the village. AVE CZ Waste Management’s intention to build a toxic waste incinerator is a major threat to Rybitví and the wider area. This is opposed by the citizens of Rybitví, and following public pressure, the Ministry of the Environment issued a negative opinion on the environmental impact of the construction. However the process continues.
Local old-timers recall the time before the factory expansion, when the old Rybitví still existed and when resisting the will from above was practically impossible. However, in relation to today’s situation, there are rarely any references to the period of the 1990s and 2000s, when privatisation, further land sales and resales, and the absence of regulations or prudent spatial planning led to the current state of affairs.