Draft:Vagač house (Detva)

Vagač house, originally the family house of the Vagač family, founders of the first bryndza (sheep milk cheese) factory in Slovakia, built in 1908, a landmark of the town of Detva, located in the historical part of the town on Partizánska Street.

The establishment of the bryndza factory dates back to 1787. Its founder was Ján Vagač, a native of Stará Turá (* 1759 - † 1835). He was the owner of a butcher shop, a dealer in cattle, butter and cheese and the founder of the Vagač bryndza era. In addition to trading with clarified butter and cattle, he often came to Central Slovakia, including the town of Detva.

During his repeated visits, Ján Vagač was also recognized by the local shepherds. He stayed overnight at many shepherds' huts and got to know their work. He was treated to bread and a special lumpy cheese made from sheep's milk. He was intrigued by its appearance and especially its taste, and as it was not durable, he wondered what to do with it. Ján Vagač began to experiment with the cheese. He enriched the previous method of production by rolling the crumbled raw material in his hands on a wooden paddle, thus achieving a finer consistency. By mixing in salt, he prolonged the shelf-life and shaped the bryndza into a compact mass. A stiff, yet buttery product was obtained. He used new production methods to create a specific Slovak bryndza.

He discovered the technology of bryndza production and it was in Detva, where he was met with the prototype of bryndza, that he founded the first bryndza factory in 1787. During the season, family members lived in Detva and the surrounding area for more than half of the year. During this period, the Vagač family was a wealthy Catholic family of serf origin. Ján Vagač acted honestly and conscientiously all his life, and as he was dying, he left his son with a life credo: "With honesty you will go the furthest."

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Vagač family came to Detva only for the shepherd's season, they went home to Stará Turá for the winter. It was not until Alexander Vagač (* 7 October 1879 - † 9 March 1934), who after the death of his father Michal (* 26 September 1844 - † 19 January 1905) took over the management of the family bryndza factory in 1905, that he and his wife Antonia Valovičová (* 5 January 1887 - † 23 February 1976), decided to move to Detva permanently. Together they brought up four children, Štefan, Karol, Július and Mária. In 1908, Alexander Vagač had a ground-floor house built for his young growing family on the then Main Street (today's Partizánska Street) and in 1931 an extension was added. According to the project, the new building was to have an enclosed courtyard with a street front of the dwelling house and a drainage to the brook. It would consist of two two-bedroom family flats with a common entrance (hallway) on the ground floor and two one-bedroom dwellings in the attic. In addition to the two-bedroom family flats, separate kitchens, storage rooms and cellars and enclosed lofts were also planned in the dwelling house on the ground floor. And two one-bedroom flats, to which convenient stairs leading from the common entrance from the entrance hall were projected. The builder Ján Cajhán from Banská Štiavnica drew up the project documentation and the total construction budget was set at 203 458 CSK.

Under the leadership of Alexander Vagač, the company reached its greatest prosperity. The products of the Detva bryndza factory made Detva famous in all of Slovakia and in the world, especially in Austria, Germany and the USA. In 1914 they started to use petrol engine to drive the mills and in 1928 electric engine. After the outbreak of World War I, Alexander Vagač had to enlist and take part in direct frontline fighting in 1916-1918. During his absence, his wife Antonia took over the job at the bryndza factory. The bryndza factory suffered from economic difficulties in the first post-war years. The cause of the recession varied; exports to the former parts of the monarchy were crippled by new borders and tariffs, and exports were subjected to strict state regulation. The other basic foundation of sales, domestic consumption, was crippled by the socio-economic problems of broad sections of society. The company's crisis was multiplied by the brief occupation of Detva by the Hungarian Bolsheviks in June 1919. The Bolshevik soldiers occupied the Roman Catholic parish and the Vagač house. The rectory was their headquarters and they held court at the Vagač house.

The family saved themselves by fleeing Detva and spending two months in hiding. Irreparable damage was done to the house and the bryndza factory. Upon their return, they began production anew. In 1933, they expanded production to include a smelting plant for Emmental cheese, which was imported from Austria in exchange for bryndza. Alexander Vagač died on March 9, 1934, at the age of 55.

The management of the company was taken over by his first-born son Štefan Vagač (* 19 July 1905 - † 2 March 1991). In 1937, on the 150th anniversary of the family bryndza factory, he commissioned a promotional brochure from Gustáv Hladil. It was the first work of its kind and there is no doubt that Štefan Vagač commissioned it not only out of respect for his ancestors, but also for prestige and marketing reasons. The booklet is a basic source of family history and provides the first comprehensive information on bryndza - its origin, production and consumption. However, Štefan Vagač was not destined to run the business for the rest of his life as his ancestors had done. The nationalisation of enterprises after 1948 meant the liquidation of the family bryndza factory, and in 1951 production there was closed down. In 1953, the Vagač family had to leave not only the bryndza factory, but also their family home. Štefan Vagač was reassigned to the worker's status, he took a course as a structural locksmith in Hliník nad Hronom, where he worked for half a year. After his dismissal, he subsequently worked in the water and sewage works, where he did excavation work and laid pipes. It was here that he suffered a serious accident with lifelong consequences and had to change his workplace. He worked as a warehouseman in Vlkanová until his retirement. He lived with his family in Banská Bystrica, where he died on 2 March 1991.

Present day
Vagač house had been dilapidated for many years. Today, however, the renovated Vagač House is a cultural and community centre. It consists of a tavern, a café with a reading room and a guesthouse. It is home to the Podpolianský pivovar (brewery), where Dobronay, a home-brewed unpasteurised and unfiltered beer, is brewed. On the first floor of the Vagač House there is a museum, which is dedicated not only to the Vagač family, but also offers space for exhibitions and cultural events of various kinds.