Edmund’s Gorge, star attraction of Bohemian Switzerland National Park, to reopen to visitors
Three years after a devastating fire stopped the popular boat trips down the river Kamenice, boating through Edmund’s Gorge is set to recommence on July 19th. The initial trips will be limited to a maximum of fifty people daily.
Bohemian Switzerland is the magnificent national park that sits on Czechia’s northwest border with Germany. The park welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, who come to see sights like the imposing Pravčice Gate, naturally formed from sandstone and sixteen metres above the ground. For many, a trip to Bohemian Switzerland would not be complete without boarding a boat, setting off down the river Kamenice and passing between the high cliffs of Edmund’s Gorge. Yet, since 2022, this has not been possible.
The wildfires that ripped through the national park in the summer of 2022 have necessitated a lot of hard work and consistent observation, to make certain sections of Bohemian Switzerland safe and accessible for visitors again. These include Edmund’s Gorge (named after Prince Edmund of Clary-Aldringen, and alternatively known as Kamenice Gorge). Over 500 people were evacuated during the wildfires that summer, during which time 6,000 firefighters worked to put out the blaze, and damage of around 270 million crowns was caused.
Assessing whether boat trips on the Kamenice can restart is the responsibility of the municipality of Hřensko. The local authorities, in cooperation with the national park’s team, this week held two days of trial trips, followed by a grand reopening for invited guests on Thursday 17th. Now, on Saturday 19th, the general public have the chance to experience the gorge again, although there will still be limitations, as Petr Kříž, director of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, explains:
“The restrictions there are only numerical. They are under the responsibility of the municipality of Hřensko, and the municipality has set a limit on the number of visitors per day, given that visitors will be accompanied by a guide for safety reasons.”
To minimise the risk of disappointment and wasted journeys, tickets for the moment cannot be purchased online, only at the information centre in Hřensko and only for that particular day. Authorities will continue to monitor the environment for risks, deciding each day whether it is safe for visitors.
“Starting this year, we are newly using automatic drones, so my colleagues experienced in this field supervise the park with a drone at critical moments … As the National Park Administration, we are doing very extensive safety work throughout the park after the fire, quite a lot has been done. I believe that the municipality of Hřensko has a very well-established test operation in terms of eliminating risks for visitors. However, it is necessary to realise that both the gorge area and the entire area of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains can never be considered completely safe, there are always risks for visitors.”
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