The Chřibský Aqueduct – a forgotten landmark on the border between Bohemian Switzerland and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains

In the deep valley of the Chřibská Kamenice, below the town of Chřibská, lies a unique engineering monument which is, however, not yet very well known to tourists. This is the Chřibský Aqueduct. Just as the popularity of visiting neighbouring Chřibská is growing, so too is the number of visitors to the aqueduct itself.

History

Built in 1886, the aqueduct was part of an ingenious system for harnessing water power – it channelled water from the Chřibská Kamenice stream via a long canal to Florian Hübels’ weaving mill in Dolní Chřibská, which was built between 1884 and 1894. The water flowed through a channel approximately one metre wide from the intake structure on the Chřibská Kamenice.

From there, the water was channelled along a 250-metre-long course to the first short tunnel carved into the rock. It then crossed the watercourse via a double-arched stone aqueduct. After another section of the millrace, the water was channelled through a stone tunnel approximately 140 metres long, which opened out onto the grounds of the former factory. The total length of the system is approximately 800 metres.

The factory ceased operations during the Great Depression. The factory building subsequently served as a repository for the natural history collections of the National Museum. After the collections were removed in the 1980s, the factory building burnt down in 1996 and was subsequently demolished. Whilst the textile factory was irretrievably lost, the water channel with its aqueduct and tunnels was declared a listed monument in 1991 and remains remarkably well-preserved to this day, even though it has not served its original purpose for almost a century.

The aqueduct is freely accessible and, with a little care, you can even look inside both tunnels. Thanks to its location in the beautiful Chřibská Kamenice valley, on the border between the Bohemian Switzerland National Park and the Elbe Sandstone Protected Landscape Area, it is sure to soon become a major attraction for both tourists and locals alike, and one of the key tourist landmarks of the town of Chřibská.

Access for visitors:

• You can park your car in the small car park amongst the rocks directly above the aqueduct.
• There is no signposted footpath leading directly to the aqueduct, but you can walk from the square in Chřibská following the green trail towards Stodolec and then along the road towards Rynartice. The total distance is 3.5 km.
• Cyclists can follow cycle route no. 3052. 3052.
• You can also use the bus service, including the Bohemian Switzerland tourist buses, and alight at the Chřibská – Na Potocích stop.