Ralsko military training area
The Ralsko military training area was a restricted military area in the north of the Czech Republic , in the Liberecký kraj region and to a small extent in Středočeský kraj between the towns of Doksy (Hirschberg am See) , Mimoň (Niemes) , Stráž pod Ralskem (Wartenberg am Rollberg) , Mnichovo Hradiště (Münchengrätz) and Bělá pod Bezdězem (Weißwasser) . Its extension roughly corresponds to the geomorphological unit Ralská pahorkatina (Rollberg hill country) . The area is 250 km².
The area including all villages previously inhabited by Sudeten Germans was cleared for the military in 1947. 1947–1968 the Czechoslovak Army and 1968–1991 the Soviet Army used the place. Ralsko has been accessible to civilians again since the troops withdrew in 1991. Seven places have been repopulated and have merged to form the Ralsko municipality . 17 villages were destroyed. Their remains and ruins of the military facilities are still visible. The open areas and forests are contaminated with ammunition, the groundwater with pollutants . The decade-long cordon also created an ecologically valuable landscape in which many endangered animal and plant species live. Entering the site is permitted with restrictions.
history
The Rollberg hill country was relatively sparsely populated until the first half of the 20th century. The residents were predominantly German-speaking. Most of the forests belonged to some large landowners: the Prague Dominican Convent and the noble Hartig , Rohan and Waldstein families . From 1914 the Graeflich Waldstein Forestry Office operated a narrow-gauge forest railway between Rečkov and Kummer , which was used to transport wood.
After the Munich Agreement in 1938, the Wehrmacht occupied the area. In March 1945 the construction of an airfield began near Hradčany , which was damaged in US air raids and was only completed by the Czechoslovak Army after the end of World War II. The end of the war brought the Reich and Sudeten Germans out of the area; new residents settled in the abandoned villages.
On October 30, 1946, the Czechoslovak government decided to set up the Bezděz military camp in Ralsko . At the beginning of 1947 the area was evacuated in accordance with the Beneš decrees , the large estates were nationalized and the residents were relocated. In 1948 the site was renamed the Mimoň military camp , and from July 1, 1950 the official name was Vojenský újezd Ralsko (Ralsko military training area). The Czechoslovak Army used only 60 km² of the 250 km² area for troop exercises : tankodromes , deep fords and the Židlov and Bělá armored shooting ranges were built, as well as a test area for testing ammunition , ammunition depots, garages for tugs for nuclear warheads and top secret depots for the nuclear warheads themselves. The remaining areas shielded the military area from the civilian environment. Most of the villages were razed to the ground in the following decades, many of them by fire during military operations. In some places on the edge of the restricted area, employees of the state forest enterprise and members of the army settled. There were permanent crews only in Mimoň and Kuřívody. The soldiers were housed in tent camps during the exercises.
After the invasion of the Warsaw Pact states in 1968, the Soviet army occupied the area. It thus had the largest military training area in Czechoslovakia. In the 1980s, the Soviet troops extended the runway in Hradčany to a length of 2.7 kilometers and a width of 80 meters, creating an airfield on which the space shuttle Buran could land. The Soviet troops were permanently stationed on the square. Estimates speak of 20,000 soldiers and relatives who were in Ralsko at the beginning of the 1990s and who remained virtually without contact with the civilian population.
The only public road from Mnichovo Hradiště to Mimoň could only be used by civilians without stopping. On August 23, 1985, there was a serious accident on Červený vrch near Ploužnice, in which a Soviet T-72 main battle tank collided with a ČSAD Dobruška bus going from Kuřívody to Mimoň. The Karosa , occupied by 46 passengers, broke into two parts, and there were several seriously injured. The accident was largely kept secret and photos taken by some passengers were later confiscated.
The Red Army built apartment blocks, shops, and cinemas. When it left after the Velvet Revolution and the last Soviet transport left Mimoň on May 30, 1991, 1200 empty apartments, 1000 buildings and 521 residents remained in Ralsko.
As a result, experts in ordnance disposal began to clear the military contaminated sites in the area. In the years 1991–2004 the Mimoň pyrotechnic authority gradually cleared mines and unexploded ammunition. A total of 60 pyrotechnicians removed the ammunition from an area of 8,600 hectares. They divided the area into four hazard levels : improbable and probable occurrence of ammunition, target areas of the shooting ranges and, as the highest risk level, the air defense training area on the Prosičská horka hill, which is so highly contaminated that it cannot be remedied. A 100-year building ban applies here. In the remaining sections, the ground was searched to a depth of 50 centimeters in open areas and to a depth of 30 centimeters in wooded terrain. The renovation was intended to create public safety. Visitors moving around the site, observing the safety instructions and not touching the ground cover, should be protected from lethal contact with ordnance. This goal is considered to have been achieved. Since the completion of the military clearance in 2004, the police and pyrotechnic employees of the forest company have been responsible for the security in the area. The hazard levels continue to apply. The police assume that the ammunition can never be completely cleared away. It will remain permanently in the ground and will come to the surface again and again through natural geophysical movements.
topography
The subsoil in Ralsko consists mainly of Upper Cretaceous sandstone . In contrast to the two neighboring, smaller protected landscape areas, Bohemian Paradise and Daubaer Schweiz, there are no extensive rock towns and only a few free-standing sandstone blocks here. A number of conspicuous tertiary volcanic cones rise from the slightly undulating terrain . The terrain is dry and there is a high risk of forest fires in summer. The entire area is hardly populated. Long stretches are almost deserted.
surface
The central part of the area is slightly hilly, with wide valleys and low elevations. Only the peaks Malá Buková and Velká Buková (431 and 474 m) near Hradčany protrude significantly above the area. In the northwest rises the tephrite cone (sodalite-analcim-tephrite) of the mountain Ralsko (Rollberg) , with 696 meters highest elevation in the area, above Mimoň. The Vranovské Skály rock group lies on its southern flank .
At the northern edge the terrain is more structured and rocky. The basalt peaks Velký Jelení vrch (Great Deer Mountain) (514 m) and Malý Jelení vrch (Small Deer Mountain) (500 m) are in the vicinity of Hamr na Jezeře (Hammer on the Lake ). The elevation Kozí hřbet (437 m) formed over a magma breakthrough in the iron-bearing sandstones; the remains of medieval iron mines have been preserved on its slopes. Two other hills, Děvín (421 m) and Hamerský Špičák (Hammer Spitzberg) (452 m), contain castle ruins. Other prominent geomorphological objects are the rock amphitheater Divadlo , the table mountain Široký kámen and the 250 meter wide vertical rock face Dlouhý kámen.
A rocky area in the western part between Máchovo jezero (Hirschberger Großteich) and Ploučnice (Polzen) bears the name Polomené hory (Kummergebirge). Three mountains - Dub (458 m), Borný (446 m) and Pec (451 m) - rise above a series of rocky valleys. Striking landmarks here are the Psí kostel rock cave (dog church) , the four meter wide Skalní brána rock gate and Králův stolec (king's throne) , a mighty sandstone block near Doksy with a stone bench, on which, according to legend, Emperor Charles IV often sits after the hunt recovered. The rocks Hradčanské stěny with walls Popelová věž, Panenská skála, Tvarožník, Lesní hlava and others are suitable for climbing . 533 hectares of the area are fenced in as a game reserve.
At the southern end of Ralsko are the phonolithic elevations of Malý Bezděz and Velký Bezděz (577 and 603 m). The restored Gothic castle on Velký Bezděz is a landmark of the area that can be seen from afar.
Waters
The largest river in the north of Ralsko is the Ploučnice , which flows through an artificial rock channel from the 16th century near the town of Noviny pod Ralskem in the Polzen Gorge . At one of its tributaries is the pond Hamerský rybník, right on the Ploučnice in Straz pod Ralskem the pond Horecký rybník . On the eastern edge of the area the Zábrdka flows and in the central part the Ploužnický brook , which feeds some ponds. The west has two pond landscapes: Hradčanské rybníky and Břehyňský rybník . Apart from these bodies of water and a few other small streams, the area is dry. Fresh water sources are very rare.
Settlements
All places in the area of the former military training area are part of the Ralsko municipality . In Kuřívody (chicken water) is the seat of the municipal administration, also are inhabited Hradčany , Ploužnice (Plauschnitz) , Boreček (Haide Dörfel) , Náhlov, Dolní Krupá and Hvězdov .
In some places near the liquidated villages the army built housing estates for the soldiers' families. The military towns near Hvězdov (Höflitz) , Jablonec (Gablonz) , Svébořice (Schwabitz) and Nový Dvůr found no subsequent users and are now ready for demolition. The villages of Černá Novina (Black Forest) , Holičky (Hultschken) , Horní Krupá (Ober Krupai) , Křída (Kridai) , Okna (Woken) , Olšina (Wolschen) , Palohlavy (Halbehaupt) , Proseč (Proschwitz) , Strážov (Straßdorf ) have perished ) , Židlov (Schiedel) , Jezová (Jezowai) , Vrchbělá, Chlum (Chlum) , Dolní Novina ( New Bohemian territory) and Prosíčka (Prositschka) . In some places remains of foundations, cellars, wells and orchards have been preserved. Others disappeared completely.
ecology
Flora and fauna
A large part of the area is covered by deep forests, the original mixed forest character of which has been partially preserved. In forests predominate with 87% coniferous forest - monocultures . Pines make up 65%, spruce 19%, oak 4%, beech 3% and larch 3% of the population.
The open landscapes left by the military are gradually overgrown with pioneer vegetation , with predominantly birch trees . Many specific plants are attached to the original forests, rocks and moors.
The animal world has benefited from decades of seclusion. The landscape is home to a number of rare animals. Critically endangered amphibians (common toad , natterjack toad , sea frog ), reptiles ( adder ) and mammals ( lesser horseshoe bat , European ground squirrel ) live on the former training area . A bird sanctuary has been set up for five selected bird species: cranes , marsh harriers and bluethroats nest in the ponds and in the wetlands, and the goat milker and woodlark nest in the forests and open landscapes . Other endangered birds that nest on the site include white-tailed eagles , ospreys , bitterns , peregrine falcons , red kites , black kites and black tern . Altogether there are 23 endangered, 35 endangered and 14 critically endangered species of vertebrates in Ralsko . However, since the end of military use, the chances of some species have deteriorated. In particular, the progressive vegetation of the open areas and the disappearance of large puddles of water on the armored paths changed the living conditions for the animals, sometimes even negatively.
In contrast, the game population in the forests has increased significantly. Game is kept and hunted in three locations. In addition to two enclosures for red deer , fallow deer and mouflon, there is also a pheasant reserve .
Protected areas
The military training area is placed under nature protection on an area of 7000 hectares , but the entire area is not designated as an official landscape protection area (CHKO). Four locations have been classified as important in Europe in terms of the Natura 2000 protection system . There is also the Českolipsko-Dokeské pískovce a mokřady bird sanctuary . Twelve areas have been declared nature reserves or natural monuments ; The management of the CHKO Kokořínsko is responsible for all nature conservation measures .
The most valuable area is the 903 hectare Břehyně-Pecopala National Nature Reserve . The sandstone peaks of the Kummergebirge with the rock town of Pecopala and the wetlands at the Břehyňský rybník pond were included in the register of the Ramsar Convention in 1991 and have been part of the Council of Europe's network of biogenetic reserves since 1994. 60 endangered plant species have been registered in the swamps, including the swamp soft orchis , which was already considered extinct in the Czech Republic. 164 species of birds breed in the reserve. The 28.66 hectare national nature reserve Velký a Malý Bezděz near Bělá pod Bezdězem was established to protect the mountain forests. The critically endangered Alpine ibex lives in the oak and beech forest there .
Two other nature reserves are on the western edge of the area. The Ralsko near Mimoň reserve covers 22.32 hectares of mixed deciduous forests, rocks and rock debris on the 696 meter high mountain. In the species-rich herbaceous layer of the forests there are a number of endangered plants such as the Turk's Union and the southern eyelash fern . The stock dove and eagle owl breed here, and rare snails have been recorded in the ruins of the medieval castle. The 131.61 hectare Hradčanské rybníky reserve , a pond landscape with extensive moorland and wetlands, is located near the former military airfield . 200 higher plant species and 698 butterfly species have been registered here, the spring grass and spotted orchid found here are critically endangered species.
In addition to the larger reserves, a national natural monument and seven other natural monuments are designated on the site of the military training area. Mostly it is hilltops, sandstone blocks or other elevations that offer the flora and fauna valuable retreats. Two natural monuments lie northeast of the town of Mimoň: the 12.92 hectare Vranovské skály rocky area at the foot of the Ralsko mountain and the area around the two volcanic cones Malý and Velký Jelení vrch, which is protected on 7.91 hectares. Another four protected small areas are located near Hamr na Jezeře : the single standing sandstone block Stohánek (0.26 ha), the three elevations Děvín, Ostrý a Schachtstein (33.72 ha), a striking table mountain made of sandstone called Široký kámen (wider Stein, 29.81 ha), and Divadlo (theater), a 2.45 hectare reserve with a natural amphitheater in the rock and a rock gate. Two smaller wetlands have also been declared natural monuments: the Swamp National Natural Monument , a small 1.45 hectare bog near the Máchovo jezero , and the 4.26 hectare Černý rybník bog near Hamr na Jezeře in the former uranium mining area.
Further information on the protected areas can be found in the list of nature reserves in Liberecký kraj .
Environmental damage
In addition to ammunition and demolished infrastructure, the military also left behind heavy pollution in parts of the soil and the groundwater, primarily through hydrocarbons . The area around the Hradčany airfield, where one of the largest storage facilities for fuel and lubricants in Czechoslovakia was located, is most affected. Over 37,000 cubic meters of kerosene , diesel and gasoline, as well as lubricants, rocket fuel, cold protection agents and various chlorine compounds were stored here in unsuitable containers . The area is contaminated by kerosene on 37 hectares. 200 tons of chlorinated hydrocarbons found their way into the groundwater in Boreček. The contamination extends to a depth of 40 meters. A civil industrial company in Mimoň was found to be the main culprit. In both areas, the groundwater has been pumped out and cleaned since 1988/1990.
Another badly damaged area are the six large firing ranges, in the floors of which ammunition of all kinds is still hidden. Metal splinters stuck in the trunks of the surrounding trees pose a problem for forestry. Before the withdrawal of the Soviet Army, a major fire broke out in which over 200 hectares of forest were destroyed. An unknown number of wild landfills have also remained.
Buildings
Castles and churches
On the southern edge of the area is the restored Gothic castle Bezděz , which was never part of the military training area. The remaining castles, former stately buildings and church buildings in the Ralsko area have almost all perished or are in ruin. Some of them were abandoned centuries ago, the rest of the army did not survive. Only St. George's Church in Kuřívody has been partially restored and is used for church services.
From the castle Ralsko (dt. Roll Castle ), which gave the whole area its name, massive remains of the keep and the ramparts are left. It was founded in the 14th century by the Wartenberg family and abandoned in the 16th century. Near Hamr na Jezeře are the ruins of Děvín Castle , which was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War, and a little further south are the remains of the Stohánek Castle . It existed briefly in the 15th century and later served as a hermitage. Of three other medieval castles, only ramparts and moats are still visible in the terrain: Křída south of Náhlov above the Zábrdka valley, Zbynsko near Hvězdov and Hradový vrch near Svébořice.
Although sometimes referred to as a castle, Šlapka is the ruin of a Waldstein forest house . The manorial building between Mukařov and Kuřívody was destroyed after 1945. In contrast, Radechov , a wooden house in Tyrolean style near Dolní Krupá , is well preserved . The former hunting lodge of the Waldstein belongs to the forest administration today.
The Eustach Chapel near Boreček was built as a hermitage in 1712 and later converted into a chapel. The outside of the building is badly damaged, the interior completely demolished.
monument
Near the rock castle Stohánek, a memorial commemorates Antonín Sochor , hero on the Eastern Front during the Second World War, who died here in a car accident on August 16, 1950. The major general worked as a trainer for Israeli Hagana units at the military training area and was considered an opponent of Bedřich Reicin , the commander of the military counterintelligence service. Sochor survived several assassinations before and it is believed that the accident could have been a planned attack.
Military and industrial plants
The airfield in Hradčany was one of the largest military airfields in Central Europe. The concrete runway is 2500 meters long and 80 meters wide. In addition to the main runway and two feeders, the army left behind accommodations, workshops and bomb-proof aircraft bunkers. Some buildings are rented out as storage rooms. The runway itself is used for inline skating, motorcycle and car races and can be approached by microlight aircraft. The square is a popular film set: scenes for the films Stalingrad and Dark Blue World were shot here. Plans to restore the place as a civil airport came to nothing in early 2008.
Large-scale uranium ores were mined between Stráž pod Ralskem and Hamr na Jezeře . After test drilling in the 1960s, chemical uranium extraction began in 1974 . In this method, acid is pumped into a shaft, which loosens the uranium ore from the rock. The solution is pumped out again and worked up. In the second half of the 1970s, the Stráž plant was the world leader in chemical uranium mining. It processed 400 million m³ of contaminated groundwater and extracted more than 15,000 tons of uranium by the 1996 production stop. In addition to other chemicals, 4.079 million tons of sulfuric acid were pumped underground.
The state-owned company Diamo sp then retrofitted the facilities and began to liquidate the company and partially rehabilitate the subsoil. The legacy of chemical uranium extraction is 8000 boreholes, 628 hectares of flushing fields and 380 million cubic meters of contaminated groundwater. Diamo sp pumps and purifies the water of the turonic layers; uranium will continue to be extracted and used commercially. The restoration of the deeper, also affected Cenomanium layer has not yet been resolved.
Civil development
In 2008, 17 years after the army withdrew, the former military training area in Ralsko was still clearly marked by its 40-year military presence. Even if the remaining settlements now have around 1900 inhabitants again, a large part of the area is still as good as deserted. The infrastructure is underdeveloped and there is hardly any trade or industry. Unemployment is 13 percent.
The largest company on site is the state forest company , which has owned the site since 1947. Today he manages an area of 29,205 hectares under the Vojenské lesy a statky Mimoň company . 27,119 hectares of which are covered with forest. 17% of the forests are damaged by fire and the wood is unusable. In addition, most areas must be pyrotechnically examined before the actual forest work. Nevertheless, the forestry company in Ralsko extracts 100,000 cubic meters of timber annually.
According to plans by the municipality and the Liberec region, tourism is to be promoted in the future . The network of paths is already open to pedestrians and cyclists, and with restrictions also to motorized vehicles. However, warnings are issued in many places before entering the area outside of the paved path.
supporting documents
All documents used are in Czech unless otherwise stated.
literature
- Město Mimoň ve spolupráci s Katedrou marketingu HF-TU Liberec, Agenturou regionálního rozvoje Liberec a Vlastivědným muzeem a galerií v České Lípě: Bývalý vojenský Prostor Ralsko a jeho potenciál ciel pro ro. Sborník příspěvků z konference s mezinarodní učastí. Mimoň April 26, 2006. ISBN 80-239-7313-4 . (City of Mimoň in cooperation with the Liberec University of Technology, Marketing Department, Liberec Regional Development Agency and the Česká Lípa Museum and Gallery: The former Ralsko military training area and its potential for the development of tourism. Edited volume with contributions from the conference of the same name in Mimoň on 26 April 2006. Cited here as BVP Ralsko. (Pdf version; 1.4 MB) )
- Ladislav Lahoda: Průvodce bývalým vojenským prostorem Ralsko. (Guide through the former restricted area - PDF short version from May 1, 2005 )
Web links
- ralsko.wz.cz - Homepage of the Sdružení Náhlov Citizens' Association with information on the history of lost and existing places in the Rollberg Hills
- podzemi-cma.cz - Photo gallery of the CMA - společnost pro výzkum historického podzemí (Society for Research into the Historical Underground)
cards
- Map of Máchův kraj 1:50 000, 2nd edition 1999, Club českých turistů Praha
- Map Ralsko 1:25 000, 2nd edition 2005, Geodézie On Line
Movie
- Lidé a ruiny (people and ruins). Documentary by Daniel Šťastný, Mirek Suchomel and Jakub Miki Měkota, August 2005.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Janota Jiří: Vývoj lesního hospodaření v bývalém vojenském prostoru Ralsko. In: BVP Ralsko, p. 7
- ↑ a b Jindřich Šolc: Rozvoj obce Ralsko a záměry v oblasti rozvoje cestovního ruchu. In: BVP Ralsko, p. 15
- ↑ http://archive-cz.com/page/844776/2012-12-05/http://mestoralsko.cz/v-ralsku-pred-25-lety/ ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info : The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Transcript of the film People and Ruins ( Memento from November 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Robert Mlejnek: Stav pyrotechnické zátěže v bývalém VVP Ralsko a jeho hodnocení z hlediska turistického využití. In: BVP Ralsko, pp. 17-21
- ↑ V. Klein / M. Opletal (ed.): Geologická mapa ČR, List 03-31 Mimoň . Prague (ČGU) 1998
- ↑ Ladislav Pořízek: Ptačí oblast, přírodní rezervace a památky národní category v regionu - klady a zápory pro rozvoj cestovního ruchu. In: BVP Ralsko, p. 54f and Markéta Knauerová, Miroslav Honců, Ing.Zdeněk Vitáček: Výskyt zvláště chráněných a významných druhů živočichů a rostlin v oblasti bývalého VVP Ralsko, jejich ochnranost. In: BVP Ralsko, p. 91 ff
- ↑ Jiří Holý: Ochrana přírody a cestovní ruch na pozemcích určených pro účely obrany státu. In: BVP Ralsko, p. 35
- ↑ doksy.com ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ the national nature reserves and natural monuments are described on cittadella.cz
- ↑ Výzkumný ústav vodohospodářský TG Masaryka ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and Drahomíra Traplová: Průběh a stav sanace horninového prostředí v bývalém VVP Ralsko. In: BVP Ralsko, p. 110 ff ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Ladislav Lahoda: Průvodce bývalým vojenským prostorem Ralsko , 2005
- ^ Pavel Koukal: Kdo byl Antonín Sochor? Duchcovské noviny 07/2004
- ↑ aerobaze.cz
- ↑ Měsíčník Liberecký kraj, 4/2008 ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Diamo, státní podnik, odštěpný závod Těžba a úprava uranu ( Memento of the original from May 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and Helena Valapková: Obnovení rekreačníhoakteru krajiny v oblasti Stráž pod Ralskem - Hamr na Jezeře. In: BVP Ralsko, p. 119ff
- ↑ Jiri Janota: Vývoj lesního hospodaření v bývalém vojenském prostoru Ralsko. In: BVP Ralsko, pp. 7–8
Coordinates: 50 ° 37 '10 " N , 14 ° 43' 58" E