A local shop

During the inter-war period, a typical Pardubice shop offered a range of products from East Bohemia. Can you spot them on the shelves?

In the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the fertile Labe valley was home to a flourishing industry producing coffee substitutes. The “ersatz” coffee was made from chicory, which was dried and processed into the final product. Other coffee substitutes used rye or figs. There were numerous artificial coffee producers in the Pardubice region, including the Kolín Coffee Substitute Factory, the Antonín Štefan company (in Vrdy-Bučice near Čáslav), and the Kávoprůmysl factory in Hradec Králové. Of course, we can’t forget Jindřich Franck & Sons in Pardubice, established in 1896 (later nationalized under the name Kávoviny). Its brands included Doska, Rosilka, Karo and Perola, and after the Second World War it also began making the popular Melta brand.

The Cacao Velim brand of cocoa was produced in the Velim factory near Kolín, which made cocoa powder, chocolate and other candies, as well as being another of the region’s producers of coffee substitutes. Cacao Deli was made by the same company at a factory in Lovosice, North Bohemia. Zora cocoa was made in Olomouc.

Pardubice is renowned for its gingerbread, and the city had several bakeries producing this typical local delicacy. The first gingerbread factory was Melartos, established in 1913. Candy and chocolate factories were also well-established in the region, including Jitřenka in Hradec Králové and Koukol & Michera (later Lidka) in Kutná Hora.

The name Pilnáček is closely associated with Hradec Králové. Josef Pilnáček was a soap-maker, and during the second half of the 19th century he gradually expanded his business to become a successful producer of soaps, candles and other goods. Competitors included the Otta Rakovník soap factory (whose packaging featured a crab) and Schicht soap (made at a factory in Ústí nad Labem, with a deer on the packet).