8.Strážný – Zadní Zvonková
Lenght: 29 km
Border checkpoints:
Strážný – Philippsreut (A,T)
České Žleby - Bischofsreut(Marchhäuser) (T)
Stožec – Haidmühle (T)
Nové Údolí/ Třístoličník/ - Dreisessel (T)
Krásný Les - Breitenau (highway) (A)
Plechý – Plöckenstein (T)
Nová Pec/Říjiště – Holzschlag (T)
Zadní Zvonková – Schöneben (A,T)
Other sights:
Strážný – educational Gold trail, skiing, refreshment
Nové Údolí – historical railway
Rosenauerova nádržka (Rosenauer´s reservoir) – used for wood transporting in Schwarzenberský plavební kanál (Schwarzenberk´s channel for wood transport)
Trojmezí – place, where the border of Czech Republic, Austria and Germany meet
Plechý – (1378m) – highest peak of the Czech part of Šumava
Water reservoir Lipno – bathing, refreshment, accommodation
Zadní Zvonková – Schwarzenberk´s channel, chapel
Description:
Behind the border crossing the service road turns to the south-east and goes along the KČT red path and the cycling path. Circa after 1.5 km it passes an extinct village Dolní Cazov (Unterzassau). In 1930 there were 25 houses and 134 Germans. In 2005 no house survived and the village was quite deserted. The road continues on and goes past Horní Cazov (Oberzassau), which was quite the same size before the World War II. Its fate was the same – it was pulled down, because it was in the newly set up border zone.
The road continues to the village Mlaka (Moorhäuser), bur roughly 2km in front of it the service road is not maintained and it needs to be bypassed on a tourist path. At the village Mlaka it crosses the educational Golden Trail. On twelve stops between Prachatice to the border crossing Mechový potok (Harlandbach, nicknamed „Grenzbachl") the tourists can learn about the history of the trail, on which mostly salt used to be transported, but also luxury cloths, southern fruit, seafood, spices and wine. On the German side the educative trail continues with tourist marking too.
In the section Mlaka – Nové Údolí the service road is virtually invisible, so it is better to continue along the red KČT path, which crosses the remains of the service road several times. On the way it goes past another extinct village Krásná Hora (Schőnberg), which was established in 1795. In 1874 as school was built there and in 1930 the village had 58 houses and 353 people. The road takes you to Nové Údolí (Haidmühle). This village was established around 1800 and by 1823 it had already 22 houses. In November 1910 railway reached this village, coming from Černý Kříž, so the whole south Šumava had direct connection to Bavaria. The so far quiet forest region suddenly became very lively. In 1920 273 people lived in Nové Údolí already. In 1930s a gendarme station was established there and a financial guard, there were 2 pubs, a dance floor and railway station. When the border zone was set up, the railway connection was terminated and 14 km of tracks were pulled out. Only one barn has survived until now in Nové Údolí, but none of the houses. The railway returned to Nové Údolí after more than 20 years on 30 June 1990. The Šumava South Rail Association (Spolek pošumavská jižní dráha) built there also the shortest international railway track in the world! They laid the tracks on the original embankment in the length of 105 m and restored the trans-border traffic.
The next part of service road was moved more to the inland in 1970s, when the electronic security system was built. The original service road was closer to the state border, but when the high-voltage system was introduced, it was necessary to increase the distance, which a prospective violator has to cross after the contact with the signal wall. Shortly before Plešné lake (Plöckensteiner See) both branches of service road enter the Quiet Zone of the Šumava National Park and merge. Right before the lake there is Trojmezí – a place, where borders of three states meet – Germany, Austria and Bohemia. Service road then continues through the Quiet Zone Trojmezní smrčina. On the way it crosses the cycling path 1026, which leads along the old Austria road to the tourist border crossing Nová Pec/Říjiště - Holzschlag.
A short way form there the service road branches again. The older line was closer to the border up to the present border crossing Zadní Zvonková. The newer branch then was more in the inland. At U Klápy (there is a building of the once troop house) the newer branch of the service road connects to the road along the Schwarzenberg water canal and goes along it up to Zadní Zvonková.