War took away, love gave again
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Miroslav Růžička was born on 7 December 1935 in the village of Krupá in the Kolín region into a family of blacksmiths. His parents farmed their own land, with three hectares of fields. In spite of the war and poverty, he had a nice childhood, he likes to remember it. In May 1945 the Red Army liberated Krupá, the soldiers allowed the boys to go through the tanks. However, the joy of the end of the war was soon replaced by new worries. His parents continued to manage their own farm as long as they could. In the end, they had to join a cooperative farm anyway. Miroslav Růžička was apprenticed in ČKD in Prague. After the war he got married and moved to Kouřim. Here he took part in a civil protest during the occupation in August 1968, when soldiers with tanks tried to drive through the historic city gate. Before the wedding, Miroslav Růžička accidentally witnessed the return of the requisitioned bell, the 1250 kg Štěpán, from Maniny in Prague to the Kouřim bell tower. It did not take long for the bells to attract him again soon after the wedding. Out of curiosity, he went up to the bell tower and stayed there. For a long time he rang the bell alone. In 1982 his son Jan and his friend Miroslav Lacina joined him. A new history of Kouřim bell ringers began to be written. It culminated in February 2025, when the Apolena bell returned to the town with great glory and emotion after 83 years, twice confiscated and again smelted for the third time. Symbolically, it rang out for the first time in memory of the late Pope Francis in April 2025. Miroslav Růžička was present when the bell was cast and when it rang for the first time. In 2025 Miroslav Růžička was living in Kouřim.
