The Animal Castrator’s House

In 2006, the town bought and renovated the heritage-protected house no. 6, originally built in 1850. Today it serves as an example of the house of an animal castrator from the second half of the 19^th century and features an exhibition on the formerly widespread and now extinct craft of animal castration. After 1903, there were two associations of animal castrators in Komňa – the local and provincial ones, bringing together more than 200 members from the wider area and even as far as Brno. Here apprentices could receive a licence that entitled them to practise the craft anywhere in Austria-Hungary. They were insured by the Livestock Insurance Company of Brno, which protected them in the event of an animal dying while being castrated. The profession began to decline after 1922, when the Brno Veterinary School was established, and in particular during the Second World War, when the borders were closed. It officially ceased to exist in 1951 and castration has been performed by veterinarians ever since. Animal castrators were known by many local names, including “šviháci”, “miškáři” and “nunváři”; they had their own specific slang and even a distinct way of dressing, typically a dark blue corduroy suit. They carried their tools in a leather bag. In 2008, the Ministry of Culture declared House no. 6 a cultural heritage site.