Silent sign (Giant Mountains)

Original sentence by Němé značky from 1923 with Muttich's monogram ( Krkonošský hřeben = Riesengebirge ridge , západní = west, východní = east, značky na německé straně = characters on the (then) German (now Polish) side)

The dumb characters , Czech Neme značky or Muttichovka called, are red-painted signs orientation of sheet metal, which today mainly in the Czech part of the Giant Mountains on the path marker may be used. The signs are usually attached to snow poles, which are often set up along the paths.

Emergence

The Czech painter and illustrator Kamil Vladislav Muttich (1873–1924), who himself was an avid skier, developed the pictograms to supplement the tourist signs in a meaningful and functional way and thus ensure safety in the often inhospitable nature, especially in winter, to improve. He made the picture on the left himself to present his invention and to demonstrate its usefulness.

The simple signs can be recognized even in the most adverse weather conditions - frost, strong wind and thick fog. Even the strongest hoarfrost does not make them unrecognizable. One of the original goals was also to mediate between the German and Czechoslovak authorities who had argued over which language should be used as a guide in both countries. The chosen term “silent characters” illustrates the language neutrality. In the winter of 1923/24 the first copies were installed in the most frequented places in the Giant Mountains from Harrachov to Janské Lázně . When it was first introduced, there were initially a total of 29 symbols representing important mining towns, peaks, settlements and other locations.

Their meaning is usually easy to understand, as z. B. shows a mug with a handle as a symbol for the pottery building ( Hrnčířské boudy ). With some signs, however, the meaning is not apparent at first glance. So it is not immediately clear why Muttich chose a rhombus for the Černá bouda mountain hut under the peak of Černá hora ( Schwarzenberg or Spiegelkoppe ). But if you know that the mountain hut was originally called Schwarzschlagbaude , you can see that this means the limited area of ​​the cleared area .

Over time, the characters have evolved. Some from Muttich's original collection, such as B. the fox for the Liščí hora have been simplified even more. Some have changed their meaning, such as the six-pointed star that used to stand for Nový Svět ( New World ). Others have disappeared for various reasons. This also includes the very obvious symbol for the Výrovka ( fir tree ) hut , also known by the nickname Geiergucke . And finally, new characters were added.

Wiesenbaude (old)	Mountain ridge 0	Wiesenbaude (new)

The development of the symbol for the Luční bouda ( meadow hut ) is also remarkable . Your sign originally looked like an isosceles solid triangle with a wider rectangle at the base and thus resembled the sign for the ridge of the Silesian ridge , which is represented by an isosceles filled triangle. In bad weather it was easy to mix up the two images. Therefore, the symbol for the meadow hut was simply turned upside down.

Muttich's map from 1923 with all its 29 characters

6 of Mittich's 29 signs pointed to a place that was then on German ( na německé straně ) - now Polish - territory. Interestingly enough, however, there was never a sign for the striking building on the hoop support (built in 1922), visible from afar . Lying on Polish territory and indicated by the signs, only the snow pits are left today . A total of 7 characters have been retired:

7 retired characters

character	meaning			description	status
	Czech	German	Type
	Jakobsthal	Jakobsthal	settlement	the letter T	retired, lies on the Polish side
	Nová slezská bouda	New Silesian Baude	Shack	the letter N	retired, lies on the Polish side
	Stará slezská bouda	Old Silesian shack	Shack	the letter A	retired, lies on the Polish side
	Jindřich bouda	Prince Heinrich Baude	Shack	the letter H	retired, lies on the Polish side, burned down
	Hamplova bouda	Hampelbaude	Shack	the letter H , lying down	retired, lies on the Polish side
	Obří důl	Huge reason	valley	Down arrow	retired
	Výrovka	Fir tree, geiergucke	Shack	a stylized vulture	retired

Overview

Sign for the snow pits on a pole in front of the Wosseckerbaude

D for Dvoračky

R for Rokytnice nad Jizerou

The following list contains all of the 31 characters currently in use (as of 2017). 7 of Muttich's characters have been retired (see above). Of the 22 remaining, 6 were changed, 16 remained unchanged. 9 characters were newly added, with five of them ( , , , and ) are in the triangle Pec-Žacléř-Janské Lázně, and thus the original distribution area of Muttichs characters expand to the southeast (the other four new characters , , and are in the "old" map section ).

character	meaning			description	status
	Czech	German	Type
	Benecko (orig. Žalý )	Benetzko	settlement	Cross with point on top of a horizontal beam	original
	U Bílého Labe	Weißwasserbaude	Shack	Bowl or semicircle, open at the top	New
	Černá bouda	Schwarzschlagbaude	Shack	Outline of a square, turned on its tip	New
	Dvoračky	Hofbaude	Shack	the letter D , stylized with straight bars	original
	Harrachov (orig. Nový Svět )	Harrachsdorf (original Neuwelt)	settlement	Star, six-pointed (symbol for the shine of the crystal glass of the local glassworks)	original
	hear	Mountain ridge	Mountain ridge	Triangle, filled	original
	Hrnčířské Boudy	Pottery Buildings	Shack	Outline of a mug	simplified
	Jablonec nad Jizerou	Jablonetz	settlement	the letter Y on a horizontal bar	original
	Janské Lázně	Johannisbad	settlement	Bird's claw or spruce branch	New
	Klínové Boudy	Wedges	Shack	the letter K	New
	Labská bouda	Elbfallbaude	Shack	the letter L with a slightly sloping bar	original
	Lahrovy Boudy	Lahrbauden	Shack	the letter Y , turned upside down	New
	Liščí hora ( orig.Liščí boudy )	Fuchsberg	mountain	Fox, stylized	simplified
	Lučiny	Hartmannsgrün	Settlement / shack	the letter B for the German place name Bodenwiesbauden	New
	Luční bouda	Meadow chalet	Shack	Triangle, isosceles, set on its tip with a beam overhanging the base	turned
	Martinova bouda	Martinsbaude	Shack	the letter M	original
	Mísečky	Bowl buildings	Shack	Step pyramid, turned upside down	simplified
	Pec pod Sněžkou	Petzer	settlement	Mushroom or umbrella	New
	Petrova bouda	Peterbaude	Shack	the letter P	original
	Pomezní Boudy (orig.Hraniční boudy)	Border buildings	Shack	the letter E , rotated 90 ° to the right	simplified
	Rezek	Jerusalem	settlement	the letter E rotated 90 ° to the left	original
	Rokytnice nad Jizerou	Rochlitz on the Iser	settlement	the letter R	original
	Rýchorská bouda (formerly Rennerova bouda )	Rehornbaude (formerly Rennerbaude)	Shack	three house gables standing side by side	original
	Sněžka	Schneekoppe	mountain	Outline of an equilateral triangle (previously filled triangle like mountain ridge)	detailed
	Sněžné jámy or Vysoké Kolo	Snow pits or Hohes Rad	Valley / mountain	Vertical diameter circle	original
	Špindlerova bouda	Spindler's hut	Shack	the letter Z , mirrored	original
	Špindlerův Mlýn	Spindleruv Mlyn	settlement	the letter X or a cross (symbol of a crossroads)	original
	Úpa	Aupa	Settlement / river	a right-angled U with a straight line underneath, or a right-angled Y	New
	Vosecká bouda	Wosseckerbaude	Shack	the letter V	original
	Vrchlabí	Hohenelbe	settlement	the letter W	original
	Žacléř	Schatzlar	settlement	the letter Z	New

1. ↑ The sign with the three house gables has not changed, but is now used for the Rýchorská bouda (Rehornbaude), previously for the Rennerova bouda (Rennerbaude). Both places are about 15 km apart as the crow flies.

Web links

Commons : Silent characters  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Winter map with trails and all currently used silent signs on mapy.cz (an offer from seznam.cz ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Giant Mountains - Winter 2013 season . Krkonoše - Association of its Cities and Towns, Zámek 1, 543 01 Vrchlabí. P. 15. Retrieved October 10, 2017.