Osoblažka: A narrow-gauge railway through a magical corner of Czechia, straight out of a fairy-tale
It's one of Czechia's best-kept secrets: a narrow-gauge railway that snakes through a fairy-tale landscape in the country's far northeast. We took a ride on the Osoblažka to find out what makes it so special.
All aboard! Finding Osoblaha on a map of Czechia is no easy task. The village of around one thousand people lies in a former Moravian enclave within Silesia. Nearly destroyed during the final battles of World War II and later affected by the expulsion of its German population, the region became one of the country's most remote corners - geographically and in the public’s imagination. Yet today, its historic narrow-gauge railway has turned it into an unforgettable summer destination.
Wait for the green light!
"If you're travelling with us for the first time, please don't touch the door handle until the green light comes on!" Driver Lukáš Weiss reminds the passengers before the last Friday evening train departs from Třemešná on its winding 20-kilometre journey to Osoblaha. Although the railway's vintage carriages are decades old, safety has improved significantly, including locking the old-style door handles while the train is moving.
Once everyone is aboard, Lukáš rushes to the locomotive.
His shift begins early in the morning and doesn't end until after he spends the night at Osoblaha station and drives the first train back the following day. "I’m not looking too good," he says. Standing in the sweltering locomotive cab, he smiles apologetically at the sweat soaking through his red uniform shirt.
As the train rolls through the countryside, he points out the wildlife outside.
"There's a roe deer running on the left, but that's a fallow deer on the right! We often see cranes here too. It's beautiful around here."
A railway revived the region
The Osoblaha region remains refreshingly untouched: no crowds, no teeming car parks, no overpriced ice cream or tourist traps. Visitors are welcomed by a more serene life. They may find a unique Jewish cemetery, a regional museum, and the Osoblažka itself - a narrow-gauge railway that has been running since December 1898. Nicknamed the "Railway of One Hundred Tuns," it actually winds through even more bends than that.
More than just a tourist-train
For local resident Anna Žigová, travelling home with her three granddaughters from Krnov, the train is part of everyday life.
"Sometimes we take the bus, sometimes the train, but this is much better for the children," she says as the girls watch the countryside pass by in the evening sun.
The railway brings together locals, commuters, tourists, railway enthusiasts and families. On board, passengers can even buy refreshments.
"Would you like a coffee with a wafer? Or perhaps a non-alcoholic beer?" steward Michal Majetny asks as he walks through the train; a pleasant and unexpected service on such a small regional railway.
A labour of love
"Where do all the passengers come from?" conductor Roman Vrábel ponders. "During the school year it's children going to school and people commuting to work. In summer there are mainly tourists. And when the steam train is running, some people travel one way on the steam service and return on this diesel train."
Roman normally works as a dispatcher at Ostrava's main railway station, but spends his free time working on the Osoblažka. "Yes, I earn a little extra, but above all I enjoy it. I like people." His new colleague Rostislav is making an even bigger career change, leaving teaching behind to train as a locomotive driver after moving into Bohušov station.
Meanwhile, the volunteers running the historic steam trains and those operating the regular passenger service work seamlessly together.
"When the organisation decided to take over regular passenger services from Czech Railways for local people and tourists, they simply asked those of us working on the steam trains whether we'd join them," says operations manager Pavel Schreier, who is spending the day shovelling ash from a steam locomotive.
"The answer was obvious."
Like the peaceful countryside it passes through, the Osoblažka has a quiet charm of its own. Free from crowds and commercial attractions, this little railway has become one of Czechia's most beautiful and unique summer journeys.
