Jaromír Roučka

Son of the builder Václav Roučka (born 11. 1. 1843 Velké Meziříčí, died 18. 8. 1913 Velké Meziříčí) and Anna, née Hassek (born 25. 3. 1853 Třebíč, died 1. 1. 1942). He had four siblings, three brothers and a sister, Maria (born 29. 4. 1877 Velké Meziříčí). His brother Osvald (born 10. 2. 1883 Velké Meziříčí, died 1956) was a builder in Sarajevo (also mentioned as a factory worker in Holásky near Brno), Erich (born 30. 10. 1888 Velké Meziříčí, died 16. 3. 1986 Ezelsdorf, Germany) was an engineer, entrepreneur, and inventor, and the youngest, Vilém (born 8. 5. 1894 Velké Meziříčí, died 1918), was killed on the battlefield at Montella in Italy.

His father, Václav Roučka, son of master carpenter Václav Roučka Snr. (born 1793, died 6. 8. 1875 Velké Meziříčí), and Františka, née Kallabová (born 1815, died 15. 2. 1905 Velké Meziříčí), built, for example, the new synagogue, designed by August Prokop (1868–1870) and the Real Grammar School building (gymnázium) in Velké Meziříčí. He also carried out the romantic reconstruction of the courtyard of the castle at the beginning of the 20th century. From 1876 to 1882, he was a town councillor. His wife, Anna, was a daughter of Martin Hassek, the first mayor of Třebíč and the owner of a tannery.

His brother Erich Roučka was a Czech engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur. As early as in 1911, he founded a measuring instrument factory in Blansko, followed by a company for steam boiler regulators in Slatina near Brno in 1929. During his lifetime, he received around 850 recognised patents, mainly in the field of technology, making him the most prolific Czech inventor of all time.

Jaromír Roučka first worked as a site manager in his father's construction company in Velké Meziříčí. On 10. 1. 1902, he was granted a building licence in Blansko. On 26 September 1903 in Blansko, he married Klaudia, née Zetková (born 7. 5. 1884 Přerov), daughter of Karel Zetek, a workshop foreman in Blansko, and Mathylda, née Holzerová. Three sons were born from the marriage, Jaromír (born 14. 8. 1906 Blansko), Miroslav (born 9. 10. 1907 Blansko), and Karel (born 10. 11. 1914 Blansko).

Jaromír Roučka continued in the building trade in Blansko until his death in 1934, after which his widow, Klaudia Roučková, took over the business. The business deputy was their son Ing. Jaromír Roučka. On 18. 5. 1948, the company was placed under national administration, which was entrusted to Konstruktiva, national enterprise, Prague II (Konstruktiva, národní podnik, Praha II). On 1. 1. 1949, the company was nationalised and incorporated into the Czechoslovak Construction Enterprise, national enterprise, plant BN – 351 Brno (Československé stavební závody, národní podnik, závod BN – 351 Brno), later Construction Company, national enterprise Brno (Pozemní stavby, národní podnik Brno).

It is certain that Jaromír Roučka designed and built a considerable number of buildings in Blansko and its environs, as well as in more distant locations. Unfortunately, no one has yet investigated his activities in detail. In addition to a clerk's villa in Jihlava for the factory owner Wilhelm Budischovský (1909), to whom he was probably related through his mother's family, he also designed and built a measuring instrument factory for his brother Erich and a distinctive administrative building, now placed under a preservation order, with a gatehouse for K. & R. Ježek.

PD