Origin On 4 July 1518 William of Pernštejn granted the brewing rights for thirty-one house owners in Prostějov. Among them was Hajný Jež of Seloutek, owner of the house The Green Tree.
Brewing rights Charles of Liechtenstein extended the right to brew to the owners of the Schenker houses by a monopoly on the distillation and infusion of liquor. The distillery survived not only the difficult period of the
Thirty Years' War, the shortage of raw materials, and the looting of soldiers, but also the subsequent epidemics that almost depopulated the town. It also survived 1697, when Prostějov suffered the most destructive fire in its history and half of the town was destroyed. However, the famous house with the depiction of the green tree miraculously remained intact. This year was also the beginning of the
economic recession. The distillery began to prosper again in 1735 with the arrival of a new owner, Michael Storch of Markvartice. He, as a pharmacist, began adding herbs and spices, especially anise, to the mash, thus laying the foundations for the famous Starorežná recipe.
Distillery in its golden age At the beginning of the 19th century, Prostějov became the leading producer of spirits in
Moravia with a total production of over 11,000 hectolitres. However, the real boom came in 1843, when the distillery was bought by a new owner, Jakub Vojáček. Under his management, the distillery's production reached its peak. After the purchase of the house at auction, the distillery was officially upgraded to a factory. Vojáček was inspired by the production of the famous whisky and improved the distillation processes. The oak barrels in which Vojáček's brandy was matured are still in use today. After his death in 1858, the distillery, called J. Wojaczek, Liquer- und Rum-Fabrik, Prossnitz, was taken over by his family, who founded the business company "J. Vojáček Heirs". Under this name, the Vojáček family continued to run the distillery during the difficult years of the
First World War, when they were unable to win lucrative army contracts. However, thanks to their perseverance, the Vojáček family became successful entrepreneurs. In 1925, the distillery and The Green Tree House became the property of the "Cooperative Enterprise of Innkeepers", which brought together businesses from the Haná metropolis and other areas. The symbol of a green tree with the silhouette of the city of
Prostějov in the background began to appear on advertising signs.
War and nationalisation The beginning of
World War II marked a period of increased production and considerable success for the distillery. The significant increase in sales was the result of a merger with a self-help cooperative of innkeepers in 1939, which focused mainly on the production of soft drinks. The company virtually doubled in size. In 1940, the turnover exceeded 13 million crowns, which was an extremely high figure at that time. In 1941, due to the high consumption of alcohol for war purposes, rationing was introduced. The company tried to compensate for the shortage of alcohol by increasing the production of sodas and soft drinks. However, the
Gestapo informed the company that it was secretly hiding stocks of spirits. The Green Tree distillery was subsequently raided and searched. Fortunately, thanks to the cohesiveness and courage of all the employees, the inspection went well. In 1946, the company was
nationalised and by September it was operating as a national enterprise.
Post-revolution period The political and social changes in the republic in 1992 enabled the
privatization of Starorežná Prostějov. At that time, the company produced an impressive 60 types of spirits with a production of 13 million litres. In 2011, the Green Tree Distillery–Starorežná Prostějov merged with the Ústí liquor company GRANETTE (formerly known as KB Likér or the Eckelmann brothers' liquor company), with all production concentrated in
Prostějov. The newly established company, GRANETTE & STAROREŽNÁ Distilleries, Inc., became the largest producer of spirits in the Czech Republic with purely Czech capital and one of the most important players on the Czech market. In 2017, the company renewed its historical name "The Green Tree Distillery, Inc.", which dates back to 1518. This step continued the almost 500-year-old tradition of
distilling in Prostějov. == Present day distillery ==