Blatenský Canal

Theoldest water work in the ore mountains

Trip type: By car

Distance from KV: 31 km

The biggest obstacle to the development of mining industry in the neighbourhood of Horní Blatná in the early 16th century was lack of water. Water was the most important source of energy for the constantly increasing number of mines and ore-dressing plants in the neighbourhood of rich ore deposits at the foot of the hill Blatenský. That was why the construction of an artificial canal was started as early as 1540, eight years after the foundation of the town. The canal brought water from distant peat bogs near Boží Dar to Horní Blatná.

It took only four years to build the Blatenský Canal which is one of the most famous and best preserved medieval water works in our country. As it was renovated in the last decade, we can admire the ingeniousness of old builders today. They had to cope with a number of obstacles which the harsh mountain nature had put in their way. To ensure a steady and even flow in the 12-meter long artificial bed which almost followed a contour line, they had to build numerous dikes with floodgates, overflows and drain channels as well as several “water crossroads” where the canal and brooks running from nearby hillsides crossed at different levels.

The Blatenský Canal starts some 1.5 km to the west of Boží Dar and empties into the Blatenský Brook in Horní Blatná. It is open to the public and there is an instructive path with 23 stops which runs along it. Visitors can learn all important facts about the history of mining and the original use of the canal or about local forestry and ecology.

The photos used originate from the www.kvpoint.cz website – a photo bank of Karlovy Vary Region.
Source: www.promenada.cz

Location

Mapa hotelu

Blatenský Canal


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