The Wheel Bet

The wheel hanging next to the dragon is said to be made by Birk, a wheelwright from Lednice. The following story is said to be based on fact: One sunny day in May 1638 some friends gathered in a Lednice inn to have a draught of wine after work, as usual. Jiří Birk was among them, a master-wheelwright who was famed for his skill far and wide. In the course of the gossip, Birk`s cheerful voice rang out, saying: "What do you bet, neighbours, that at six o`clock in the morn, at sunrise, I shall fell a tree in the forest, make a wheel, and a roll it to Brno within that same day, before they close the city gates?" They all mocked him and duly placed a bet of twelve thalers. They believed that the wheelwright could not possibly succeed, and that they would earn their money easily. Birk, however, was a real master of his craft. Before the bells on Brno`s towers had rung Ave Maria he had passed the Jewish Gate, passed through the Vegetable Market and had reached the Town Hall. There he presented the wheel to the amazed Mayor of Brno. Since the wheel was a true masterpiece the Mayor, Gabriel Schramm, had it hung in the town hall`s carriage way. Birk won the bet but the twelve thalers did not bring him good luck. Everyone believed that he had been helped by the devil, and so people started avoiding him. The orders dried up and the handy wheelwright died a poor man. However, Birk`s wheel, still hanging in the Old Town Hall, reminds us of him to this day.