U pana Boga za pěcom

Slavic: U pana Boga za pěcom

Cyrillic: У пана Бога за пєцом.

English: At Lord God’s place, behind the stove.

What you see here is a traditional tiled stove (piec, peć, печь) with a built-in bench behind and beside it. Such stoves were the warmest place in the house. People would sit, sleep, or hide there. Children, cats, and even elderly grandparents often occupied the space “za piecem.”

In folklore this spot was sometimes seen as magical, almost like a liminal threshold between the living space and the spirit world. Tales mention little household spirits (domovoi, skrzat, krasnoludek) hiding near the stove, and orphans or poor relatives sleeping “za piecem.”