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In the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria there is a large forested mountain range formerly known as the “Böhmerwald”. On the Czech side the mountain range is called “Šumava”, on the German side “Bavarian Forest”. The Šumava National Park is located in Šumava, which together with the Bavarian Forest National Park forms the largest protected area in Central Europe.
The highest mountain of the Bavarian Forest is the Big Maple in Germany (1456 metres), the highest peak of Sumava is Plechý (1378 metres). The main European watershed between the North Sea and the Black Sea runs along the flat Sumava ridges. The mountains are the source of several important rivers – e.g. Vltava, Otava, Úhlava, Blanica, Volyňka belonging to the North Sea basin and the Rezná, Ilz, Grosse Mühl in the Black Sea basin. Glacial, peat and anthropogenic lakes occur in Šumava.
We offer lectures and guided tours in the Kristina Adit and the Bavarian Granitzentrum. Please see the calendar for current dates and events. Detailed descriptions of the tours can be found in the Kristina Adit and Granitzentrum links – for individual dates, please contact us by email.
Project name: Presentation of mining and modern research of the rock environment in the area of Šumava and the Bavarian Forest
Cross-border cooperation programme Czech Republic – Free State of Bavaria, ECA Objective 2014 – 2020
The main objective of the project is to introduce the general public to the rock environment, history and nature of Šumava and the Bavarian Forest, the development of the Earth in one of the oldest mountain ranges in Europe and to enrich the existing infrastructure and services with new offers of joint Czech-Bavarian cooperation.
The Czech Union of Nature Conservationists (ČSOP) Rejštejn was founded in 2012 as a basic organization within the nationwide active ČSOP ČR. The aim of ČSOP Rejštejn is to contribute to the protection and restoration of natural and cultural heritage, especially in the region of the Šumava Protected Landscape Area and Šumava National Park, but also elsewhere in the Czech Republic. Other objectives include the sensitive use of Šumava's cultural and natural potential through the involvement of interesting forms of tourism in the context of nature exploration, participation in the management of these protected areas and in the search for new employment opportunities linked to the sustainable management of forests and meadows, and last but not least in the maintenance and restoration of the landscape and the restoration and maintenance of Šumava traditional skills.
The Institute of Geophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a public research institution. It is located on the premises of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague 4 - Spořilov. The Institute of Geophysics of the CAS operates 4 visitor centres. The staff of the Institute uses observations of physical fields and measurements of quantities and parameters such as seismic waves, electromagnetic fields, temperature, density and gravity to determine the physical properties of the Earth's rocks, to specify the structure of the Earth's crust and mantle and to explain the evolution of the Earth. The data obtained are processed and then interpreted and compared with theoretical models and the results of laboratory studies. The Institute operates geophysical observatories in the Czech Republic that continuously measure the relevant physical fields and are part of large international observatory systems whose outputs are used daily by the media and the public.
The Granitzentrum (Granite Centre) is a visitor place whose exhibition tells the history of the stone. Since 2005, the Granitzentrum has been teaching earth history, geology, stone technology and the social and economic history of the Bavarian Forest region in adult education and schools. The transfer of knowledge is carried out by trained stonemasons and stone technicians.
Volkshochschule ARBERLAND is the municipal educational institution of the Regen district. It is a training centre that provides general adult education, vocational training, company training as well as social and labour market projects.
The Šumava National Park is a forested area in the Czech Republic with a special environmental protection regime. The Šumava National Park is the largest of the four national parks (68 064 ha) in the Czech Republic. The main object of protection is the unique, undisturbed biological communities. Apart from the mountain spruce forests and woodlands, the most important are bogs, peat bogs and karst lakes. Šumava National Park is part of the Šumava Protected Landscape Area. 24 state nature reserves and other small protected areas have been declared on the territory of the NP. The entire territory of the Šumava National Park is also part of the Šumava Site of European Importance (code CZ0314024) and the Šumava Bird Area (code CZ0311041) within the Natura 2000 system.
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