statky

Statky is the plural noun in Czech meaning a farm, estate, or agricultural holding. The singular form is statek. In everyday use, statky refers to an agricultural property unit that includes land, buildings, and often equipment and livestock, owned by a private person or family. The size and structure of statky varied widely, from small family farms to larger manorial estates in the past.

Historical context and usage: In the Czech lands, statky were a common form of private property in agriculture. Throughout the 20th century, especially after World War II and during the socialist period, land reform and collectivization led to reorganizations of farming properties, including the creation of state farms and agricultural cooperatives, and the subdivision or consolidation of many existing statky. After the fall of communism in 1989, privatization and restitution allowed many former owners or heirs to regain property. Today statky can continue as private farms, or be subdivided or repurposed for non-agricultural uses, depending on ownership, zoning, and market conditions.

Language note: While statky retains its historical and legal relevance in discussions of land ownership and agrarian history, in contemporary Czech it is most often used in reference to farms and estates in a historical or formal context. The term is formed by adding the plural suffix -ky to the stem statek.

See also: statek (singular), statní statky (state farms), agrarian history in the Czech Republic.