Peklo (North Bohemia)
The canyon-like, rocky breakthrough valley of the Robečský potok (Robitzbach) near Česká Lípa (Bohemian Leipa) in northern Bohemia ( Czech Republic ) is called Peklo (German Höllengrund , also Karbenschlucht ) . Because of its primeval forest and the unique flora and fauna, the 67 hectare valley was placed under state protection as a national natural monument .
Location and surroundings
The Peklo extends for about five kilometers between the dam of the Novozámecký rybník (Hirnsener Large Pond) and the town of Česká Lípa. In the valley itself there is part of the community of Zahrádky (Neugarten) and the small group of houses Karba (1945–1990: Krby), with some valuable old log houses in folk construction that are listed. Near Zahrádky, the former North Bohemian Transversal Railway from Lovosice to Česká Lípa crosses the valley on two large iron viaducts, which have also been placed under monument protection. At the entrance to the actual ground there was the carbamill until 1945 , of which hardly anything has survived apart from the weir with a hydroelectric power station. In the ground itself, a primeval forest stand that has always been excluded from any use thanks to its inaccessibility. In the 13th century there were small rock castles Frýdlant and Robečský hradek (Hahnelstein) in the rocks on the left side of the valley . Only a small amount of these remains.
geology
The valley of the Peklo is cut into ashlar sandstones of the middle Turon , as they are mainly known from the neighboring Elbe Sandstone Mountains . The peklo essentially follows a fault in the sandstone table. During the last ice ages , glacial meltwater streams created today's deeply cut rocky bed.
The various forms of weathering on the sandstone rocks, such as the formation of honeycombs and hourglasses, are remarkable. Alum efflorescence is also typical . The frequent iron incrustations in the sandstone are relics of the volcanism that was active in the Tertiary in Northern Bohemia, when aqueous, iron-containing solutions impregnated the sandstone.
history
At the beginning of the 19th century, the previously completely inaccessible rock bottom was opened to the public for the first time. Vinzenz Karl Kaunitz , owner of Neuschloß , had the entire area around the palace redesigned into a park-like, romantic landscape. The entire length of Höllengrund was made passable for boats from the carbamill down, and a footpath was also laid out. Even today, in the solitude of the rocky ground, there is a single-layer house, which was previously called Kahnhäusel .
From 1881 the construction of a railway in the valley was planned. Even then there was resistance to the project, which would have resulted in extensive destruction of the natural beauties of the rock valley. At the instigation of the landowner Graf von Kaunitz, but also the public and the North Bohemian excursion club , it was possible to achieve a different route for the route. The North Bohemian Transversal Railway , completed in 1898, now crosses the valley on two large bridges.
After the expulsion of the German population and the expropriation of the nobles after 1945, the tourist facilities in the valley fell into disrepair. In 1967 the core area of the property was designated as národní přírodní pamatka (National Natural Monument - the highest nature protection category in the Czech Republic).
Flora and fauna
The Peklo is famous and known above all as the largest and most important place where the Märzenbecher was found in northern Bohemia. The forest in the valley is mainly dominated by a site-appropriate black alder meadow forest. The dry rocky reefs above the valley, on the other hand, are covered with pines, while spruce, oak and silver fir can also be found on the damp valley slopes.
Thanks to the near-natural forest, the valley is home to many rare animal species that are threatened with extinction. 78 bird species alone can be observed in the valley. The occurrence of the eagle owl , the largest European owl, is significant . Thanks to the clean water of the Robečský potok, there is also a special abundance of fish, which in turn feeds such threatened mammal species as the otter .
See also
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 39 ′ 10 ″ N , 14 ° 30 ′ 47 ″ E