CZ: Schwarzenberg Navigation Channel

Literary a unique water construction – a navigation channel connecting the Vltava River and the Danube is located very close from the place where the longest Czech river, Vltava, changes the Lipno dam. The closest village to the channel is the Jelení village, it is also the last village on a road to Nová Pec and then, more to the west, is only Germany. But even this is not sure as we are only four kilometers away from the Czech-Austrian-German border. This common border is symbolized by an outlook on more than popular Tristolicnik mountain or Dreisesselberg in German, the height of which is 1333 meters and its western side reaches Bavaira. The northern side of Tristolicnik is hosts a spring of the river on which the navigation channel is located and we will now tell you a bit of its history.

Sumava has always been a rich source of wood and the same implies for the 18th/19th centuries, western parts of this mountains were still very hardly accessible for wood collection. In the year 1789, a project was founded by Josef Rosenauer who was an engineer. The main goal was to secure an effective transportation of wood from the Czech-German borderline to the center of the Austria-Hungarian monarchy, Vienna. Of course, it was necessary to make use of Vltava and particularly Danube. The channel was supposed to cross the main European watershed near the village of Ruzovy Vrch / Rosenhügel near Saint Thomas. From there woods was floated across the Große Mühl river  to Danube. Wood was getting from forest to Vienna about 8-9 days. Between the years 1793 to 1892, in almost one century, 8 millions cubic meters of fire wood was transported…

The length of the whole communication, the Schwarzenberg Navigation Channel was 45 kilometers. Along the channel there are also some of the most interesting bike-touristic trails. An average width of the channel is 3,5 to 4 meters. Many years later, the so-calledZelnava Skid was opened in 1887, it opened a route to float wood to the River Vltava and near railroad station in Nová Pec. Wood floating was ceased in 1892 however, transport via the Zelnava Skid continued to the 1960s. The Iron Curtain and cut off of the border areas of everyday life caused that the canal sank into oblivion. Soon there were sediments and the great water construction decayed together with its unique tunnels and their almost fairy-tale portals, towers as you can see for example in Jelení Vrchy.

In last 20 years, life has been returning to these places and so the renovation of the most interesting parts of the channel came soon. Today, more than 17 kilometers (13 in the Sumava National Park) are operable. The channel and its beautiful surrounding is in constant interest of tourists and there are even often shows of the floating itself.

Among the best attractions and interesting architecture sights there is a navigation tunnel that was originally 419 meters long. Its neorenessaince, i.e. neo-Gothic portal we have already mentioned.

Would you learn more about the history of the Schwarzenberg Navigation Channel you have to visit a museum in the Chvalšina village near Cesky Krumlov. Why Chvalsina? Since it is the birth place of J. Rosenauer, the author of the whole construction.

Text: Jan Chaloupka

Photo: wikipedia commons: GuentherZ, Pudelek