7. Železná ruda – Strážný
Lenght: 51 km
Border checkpoints:
Železná Ruda - Bayer. Eisenstein (A, T, R)
Debrník – Ferdinandsthal (T)
Prášily – Scheuereck (T)
Bučina – Finsterau (T)
Strážný – Philippsreut (A,T)
Other sights:
Laka – glacier lake
Poledník (1315 m.) – view-tower (ex-air defense station)
Prášilské jezero – glacier lake
Modrava – refreshment, cycle-service
Klostermann´s chalet, built in 1924, during WW2 Wehrmacht headquarters, from 1946 to 1989 – station of Border patrols.
Březník – NP Šumava info center, refreshment
Vltava (Moldau) spring
Bučina – NP Šumava info center
Knížecí pláně - refreshment
Pagan sacrifice stones (Heidensteine) – 4 km to the west from Strážný
Ruin of Kunžvart castle – 2 km from Strážný (yellow tourist signs)
Žďárské lake – the road goes in canyon valley of river Častá.
Description:
Behind Železná ruda the service road enters the National Park Šumava. The rules of the NP must be observed. In this section there are two roads, which were used by the Border Guard. The first one leads from the border crossing and the other one is more to the inland, going along the rim of the wood. We will connect to service road again at the building of the Border Police.
Not far from there, there was a village Debrník (Deffernik).on an eponymous brook. It was a single-storey baroque chateau built in 1790 by Marie Alžběta. The chateau existed in early 1980s when it was used for accommodation of the Border Guard. Although it was in relatively good shape, in 1989 the Border Guard pulled it down. Now it is reminded only by an alley of trees along the road to Železná ruda.
The road leads on, along the red KČT path and the cycling path. Both branches of the service road meet 3 km further, at the former troop house of the Border Guard – Pod polomem. From there it leads along the red KČT path to Vlčí jámy, where it leaves it and goes to the Laka lake and bypasses it on its western bank. Behind the lake it connects to the red KČT path again and continues to the former village Žďánidla (Obersteindlberg). Not far from there, towards the state border, there used to be a village Pomezí (Gsenget). Now there is a border crossing with a marked tourist route. Near there we can find historic border stones (from the Josephine period). From there it goes to the natural reserve Prášilský brook and continues along its border to the south-east.
After several kilometres we get to the main European water divide Labe –Dunaj. From there it is 3 km to the former Border Guard troop house Javoří Pila. Since 1950s the 6th troop of the 7th brigade of the Border Guard Sušice had its post there. At present only the building of what probably was the stables has survived and a stone with an inscription NEPROJDOU (They won’t get through!) From there the service road goes through the quiet area Modravské slatě. This area is closed to public, because it contains valuable natural values, which are very sensitive to the presence of man. The length of the inaccessible section is circa 12 km. The route of service road is marked in the map.
We can connect to the former service road from the inland at Březník (Pürstling). Only a gamekeeper’s house has remained from the village. In summer it serves as a pub. Also the bridge over the Roklanský brook and some foundations have survived. In 1952 - 1970 there was positioned the Border Guard troop Březník. The village was deserted, when the German population was removed and when the border zone was established. In 1970s the border zone reached up to Modrava, i.e. 10 km from the state border.
From there the service road continues to the east and after 3 km it meets the red KČT path, crosses it and continues to the springs of Vltava (zone 1 of the NP – movement allowed only on the marked paths). In early 20th century there was a wooden shelter. In 1922 - 1923 KČT built a tourist chalet there. During World War II there was a prisoner camp. After the war the damaged chalet was not used again and in 1953 it was pulled down.
The road continues towards Bučina (Buchwald). This used to be the highest village in Bohemia. It was founded in 1790 at the former Horní Zlatá stezka (Upper Golden Trail) from Kašperské mountains to Fünsterau. In the times of the first republic there were more than 50 houses, a customs office, barracks of the financial guard, a gamekeeper’s house, a school and a savings house. There was a Fastner hotel, a well known pub Zum Tiroler and later also the Pešlova chalet. Not far from here, at the Na mlýnské mýtině site, there was a mill with a water-gang.
The service road continues through the woodland area to the Knížecí Pláně (Fűrstenhut). The village was founded by count Schwarzenberg in 1792. It was situated on a bare plateau in the altitude 1021 m. In its best times Knížecí Pláně had 60 houses (there was a gamekeeper’s house, sawmill, pub, mill, border guard post, after 1830 also a cemetery, in 1864 there was built a stone church of St. John, later also a vicarage, from 1902 there was a magistrate and from 1930 also a post office). After World War II the German population was removed and in 1950s the village was destroyed. In 1960s the army destroyed the local cemetery and the church of St. John was blown up. There is only an erect cross in the place of the church now. The service road then continues to the south and goes through the natural reserve Žďárecká slať.
Not far from there, there was a village Stodůlky (Scheureck). The service road continues from there along the red KČT path to the former villages Dolní Světlé Hory (Unterlichtbuchet) and Horní Světlé Hory (Oberlichtbuchet). During the first republic era, there was a Border Guard post. In 1930 it had 70 houses and 363 people (360 Germans and 3 Czechs). In 2005 only 1 house and 4 people remained. From there the service road continues along the Řasnice brook and after 2 km it crosses the road to the border crossing Strážný - Philippsreuth. There we can find the remains of another village Silnice (Landstrassen). In 1950s the village shared the fate of many others in the border zone. Foundations of many houses are still visible there. The village used to be divided into Horní (now the border crossing) and Dolní (troop house, now police).