Chlumin is a village 25 miles north of Prague, in a part of Bohemia sometimes called the "bread basket" of central Europe. Around 400 people live here. The streets are unnamed, so house addresses are simply numeric. The Hokes family lives at 22 Chlumin, on the main road running through the town. The surrounding countryside is wide, gently rolling fields of cash crops--potatoes, wheat, sunflowers. The roads follow the contours of the crop fields and so driving to another town means navigating long stretches of straight, narrow paved roads that end in right-angle turns. Riding along these gridded roads is like following a long series of Etch-a-sketch lines.
The largest building in Chlumin is the church, which stands in the center, surrounded by a gated wall about eight feet high, topped with red clay tiles. The original church was built sometime in the 12th century. It stood for 200 or so years, then was destroyed in the upheavals known as the "Hussite Wars." Bohemia was torn asunder in the aftermath of the execution of Jan Hus by the Roman Church. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussite_Wars Historically, the war is noted for introducing gunpowder weapons, which made sitting ducks of mounted cavalrymen in armor.
The present day church dates from 1732. Today it is seldom used, at Christmas for concerts, mostly. Very rarely is it a place of worship. The faithful of Chlumin who want to attend mass go to a neighboring town.