Czech Switzerland: drawing tourists for over a 150 years
It's one of the most beautiful regions in the Czech Republic, dubbed the Czech Switzerland, an area of extensive quiet forestland, hilly countryside and unique sandstone cliffs and river gorges that were captured by Romantic painters in the 19th century. Two years ago the region was officially declared a national park, and, as Jan Velinger reports, it is an area that has been much enjoyed by tourists from all over the world.
The sandstone formations and the park are not all that one should see: there's also a boat excursion that shouldn't be missed on the crystal-clear Kamenice river, which flows through the two quite stunning gorges that are open to the public. Hana Kozakova runs specialised boat-tours through the gorges and explains what tourists can see when they visit:
"The boat-tour respects tradition, that means that the boats are steered only by barge-pole, there are no motors. This is also ecologically sound. In the Hrensko region there are two chasms to visit: the Wild Gorge and the Quiet Gorge. It used to be possible to also visit the Ferdinand Gorge, but that has been closed off for several years now, becoming a wild part of the park where it is only possible to go foot. The first two gorges are easily accessible though, even for the handicapped. As far as the landscape is concerned it is very unusual, not possible to see anywhere else. Nature created kinds of natural sculptures there which have historical names like "The Stone Family", and "The Little Zoo", which is made up of elephant like shapes, tigers, monkeys, a dolphin, a snake. Sometimes the shapes resemble animals, at other times people, sometimes even creatures from fairy tales. Every year tourists' fantasies bring new descriptive terms."
So, you might want to think about visiting Czech Switzerland next spring - and be sure to look out for two Spotlight programmes we'll be bringing you from the region next year.
