The Vchynice-Tetov Canal

In 1799, Prince Schwarzenberg bought a large area of the Prášily estate from Count Kinsky and took advantage of the enormous wealth of timber from the extensive local forests. Between 1799 and 1801, a new building was constructed according to Ing. Rosenauer’s design and named the Vchynice-Tetov Navigation Canal.

The canal starts 2 kilometres from Modrava below the former settlement of Vchynice-Tetov. The Vydra River was dammed with a needle weir bridge at the point of the canal inlet. The bridge served as a dam, which prevented floating timber from continuing on into the unnavigable boulder bed of the Vydra.

The first 2 km of the canal run along the Vydra River to above the former royal manor of Antýgl, where it turns sharply backwards and runs along the Rokyta and around Kostelní Hill to the settlement of Mosau. Here it crosses the Srní–Prášily road and continues below Spalený Hill, where the original estuary opened through the Sekerský Brook in the Křemelná River.

The canal still served its purpose at the beginning of the 20th century. Until 1958, it was used up to Rokyta. In several places along the canal route, the original arched stone bridges have been preserved, and in many places the remains of the paved and walled canal have been preserved, too. The length of the canal is 14.4 kilometres, the height difference is 190 metres, the canal is up to 5 metres wide in some places and is partially paved. Today, the entire canal is used as a water supply to the reservoir below Sedelský Hill above Srní. From there, the water falls through the porthole onto the turbine wheels of the Hydroelectric Power Plant at Čeňkova pila.

Today, after many years, this bridge has been reconstructed again and is used by tourists. The educational trail follows the entire Vchynice-Tetov Canal from Rechle to the vicinity of Srní. Thanks to the initiative of the Czech Tourist Club, the whole route of the trail is marked with a single green-coloured tourist markings. There are ten information boardsat interesting sections and at crossroads, from which visitors can find out historical, natural, cultural and technical information in Czech, German and English. There are benches and lookout stops in many places. The trail can be used not only by hikers, but also by cyclists and, in some straight parts, also by wheelchair users.