Hliník (Aluminium)

The famous comedy Mareček, Pass me the Pen! (Marečku, podejte mi pero!) was filmed in 1976 by the director Oldřich Lipský, screenplay by Zdeňek Svěrák and Ladislav Smoljak. Hliník is one of the students of an evening course of an industrial school preparing for the diploma exam. The character never actually appears in the film, but is repeatedly mentioned as having moved away, which is the reason for his absence. In spite of this, the teacher Hrbolek keeps noting him down in the class book.

The sentence “Hliník has moved to Humpolec!” is spoken by the student Mužík, played by Zdeňek Srstka. It became popular and made the town of Humpolec famous, which is why in 2002 a plaque with the inscription “To Hliník, our most famous incomer, from the thankful fellow citizens” was put up in the town in his honour. The plaque is located in the park Stromovka, below the Lower Square. A satirical museum HLINÍKárium, called “Hliník’s cell”, was also opened in Humpolec as a reaction to the film quote. The museum’s exhibits include other reactions to Hliník, such as postcards sent to Hliníka by Czech expatriates from around the world. The plaque and the museum attract tourists from all over the Czech Republic, who started to flock to Humpolec bringing gifts and acting scenes from the film in front of the plaque. A man who might be Hliník was even interviewed by journalists.

Another plaque dedicated to Hliník was put up in 2010 in Hora Svaté Kateřiny, a small town in the Ore Mountains. It bears the inscription “To our insignificant countryman Alzheimmer, made famous by moving to Humpolec”. The county also organises a special historical train with the name By the Ore-Mountain Express after Hliník, which people take and pay their respect to the most famous incomer to Humpolec. The Ore Mountains satirists attached a story to the plaque, explaining Hliník’s origins: citizen Alzheimmer allegedly suffered from a serious illness connected with psychological instability and blackouts. During a bombardment in the Second World War, he got lost in the local forest, rambling for a few days and forgetting everything, including his name. When he was found by the soldiers of the liberation armies, he was unable to utter anything but “Al”, which is why he was issued a new ID card with the name Hliník (Al is a chemical symbol for aluminium).