2. Aš – Cheb
Lenght: 30 km
Border checkpoints:
Libá/Dubina – Hammermühle (T)
Pomezí nad Ohří - Rathsamerweg(Schirnding) (M,T)
Libá - Liebensteiner Tor (T)
Other sights:
Historical hoarstones – c. 100 m from ICG, marked by KČT
branch to Libá c. 2 km – castle ruins, refreshment, not marked (www.obec-liba.eu)
Hohenberg – museum of German stoneware manufacturing, fort (www.dt-porzellanmuseum.de)
Water reservoir Skalka – bathing
Zelená Mountain – view-tower cca 1 km from ICG cycle-path, marked by KČT
city Cheb (www.mestocheb.cz)
Description:
The service road uncouples again after less than 2 kilometers from the border checkpoint and it is marked with red KČT marks farther. Historical hoar stones can be found along the road in a plentiful number. The service road uncouples the red marked road after several kilometers at Kozina peak (642). Farther, it goes through locality of Smrčina Natural Park. This locality was much-sought-for before the Second World War when people spent their holidays here. The town of Libá (originally the castle of Liebenstein) is situated nearby. There is a comfortable forest way from the boarder to Libá. A village Dubina (Eichelberg) was located about 2 kilometers south from Libá on a left shore of Ohře river.
The village was mentioned firstly at the end of 14th century and almost 700 inhabitants lived there in 1930s. After the German inhabitants Transfer in 1945, the village found itself tight to border barriers just being built and was demolished to the ground. In the 1970s, barrack premises of Border Patrol were built and stand till now. There is a memorial for a soldier who died tragically "guarding” the borders across the road to Libá. A nice view opens across the valley of Ohře (river) on Germany, especially on the town of Hohenberg situated just across the valley and its castle.
The service rode heads for the boarder checkpoint Pomezí nad Ohří/Schirnding. Just before the checkpoint, you have to cross the river Ohře on the old bridge. The road joins again the blacktop road of the border checkpoint. A dramatic scene took place here on March 3rd 1964. Three youths and one young lady tried to cross the border blocks in a stolen destroyer tank they drove all the way from Prague. The third barrier stopped them. The young lady was shot to death while running to the Germany. The youths were imprisoned and one of them died while trying to escape. A village Pomezná (Markhausen) and its hamlet Rybáře (Fishern) were situated not very far away from here. Pomezná has got its Czech name only lately when it always used to be Markhausen with no Czech translation. It was a smaller settlement in the Cheb region and not many over 200 Germen inhabitants lived here in 1930s. All of them were transferred after 1945 and an establishing a border zone here meant the final end to the village in the 50s. The village was founded about in 14th century, probably all at once with a local fort which was situated in its western part. The fort was rebuilt into a mill at the end of 17th century. The building was still settled in 1920s, but departed after 1945 and there is remaining only a torso of a prismatic tower. No other remains of neighboring buildings can be found here. The only village building, next to the tower, which remained serves as a weekend house. The rest of the village is lost. The Rybáře settlemend used to be situated on both sides of the borders. Till our days, only the German part survived (Bayerisch Fischern). A part of the village mentioned firstly already around the 1300 was a water mill which, as a one of a few only in the Cheb region, was in operation during the Second World War and supplied the village with electric energy. The plans for this locality were to span the entire valley with Fischern with a bridge as a part of co called Imperial Highway connecting the East and the West of Europe in 1940s. The plans had never come to reality. The German inhabitants were not transferred but left their homes crossing the Ohře to Bavaria fearing the wild Transfer, although they were under police supervision. The bridge connecting the two parts of Rybáře (Fischern) was demolished soon after 1945. Empty houses were knocked down; material as bricks used and the rest was blasted out in 1950-51. The only thing which remained from the former Czech part is the acidulous water spring closed to the original mill-race. The service road goes from the Pomezí border checkpoint along the Green Mountain/Zelené hory (637,4) which has a renovated stone view-tower (Bismark Turm) on its peak. Also, a TV tower is situated here. The border fence headed further for Cheb and it turned in the south-east direction after about two kilometers, from where it takes about 3 kilometers to get to the boarder checkpoint Svatý Kříž – Waldsassen.