|
The Bohemian
Paradise is situated nearly fifty kilometers to the northeast from
Prague. Geographically it is demarcated by a borderline connecting
Mnichovo Hradiste, Sychrov, the hill Kopanina, Zelezny Brod,
Semily, Lomnice nad Popelkou, Jicin, Sobotka and Mnichovo Hradiste.
This picturesque area borders on foot-hills of the Giant Mountains
in the east and is marked off by the belt of the Jizerské
Mountains and the Giant Mountains in the north. In this romantic
area, that is situated on the middle part of the Jizera river,
variety of nature beauties is bound with rich historical buildings:
castles, chateaux and folk architecture. Exactly it was the reason
why the guests of the Sedmihorky spa started to call it the
Bohemian Paradise already in the 19th century.
The extraordinary
diversity of the landscape with characteristic sandstone rock
towns, fauna and flora was the main reason for proclaming the
region the first protected area in the then republic (1955). When
considering the diversity of the landscape and the occurence of
preserved and engangered biological species, deep forests as well
as systems of ponds on water streams and surrounding small areas
of wet ground with ecological systems are of big importance. The
unique diversity of the relief is also made by characteristic
volcanic effusions which form the dominants of the area (Trosky,
Kozakov, Muzsky, Vysker etc.).
There are numerous
finding places of agates, amethysts, jaspers, chalcedonies and
other kinds of precious stones in the volcanic rocks. The
treatment of these precious stones has been connected with the
history of the city of Turnov for several centuries. Turnov has
been the natural, economical and cultural centre of this area and
nowadays it is called the heart of the Bohemian Paradise. People
living in this area has been known for their craftsmanship. The
glass products of Zelezný Brod, wooden toys and moulds of wood
carvers from Semily, rusks produced in Lomnice nad Popelkou as
well as garnet jewels and ground precious stones made in Turnov
found their way to the whole world and become succesful. Welcome,
therefore, in the region of good people, natural beauties, castles,
museums and traditional craft production.
To describe the natural beauties of
the region concisely, it shall be pointed out that nowhere in
Central Europe so many diverse beauties of nature can be found
on just a few tens of square kilometres. There are not only deep
valleys and ponds refl ecting the towers of rock towns, but also
many peaks and observation towers offering wonderful views of
the country. Just climb to the top of the hills Kozákov, Veliš,
Zebín, Tábor, Vyskeř or Kopanina and take a look around. The
castles, chateaux, woods, sandstone rock towns and deep valleys
change over to plains and ponds. No wonder the Bohemian Paradise
is the oldest nature reserve in the Czech Republic. The fact
that it has recently been proclaimed the fi rst UNESCO Geopark
in the Czech Republic only serves as a proof of the charm of the
region and its diversity.
What you shouldn’t miss are defi nitely the rock towns –
Hruboskalské Rock Town, Prachovské Rocks, Klokočské and
Betlémské Rocks, Příhrazské and Suché Rocks, where the wind,
rain, frost and sun sculpted bizarre sandstone formations. The
architecture of the rock towns boasts of gothic grandeur,
baroque extravagance and rococo ornamentation of detail.
source:
cesky-raj.info
|
