The Legacy of Clary-Aldringen – Tourism has been flourishing in Hřensko for 130 years

When you descend to the River Kamenice, you are swept away by a world where time seems to pass differently. Perhaps it is because the sun’s rays rarely penetrate the depths of the narrow canyon? It seems as though Prince Edmund Clary-Aldringen had only recently come up with the idea of punting…

“In order to build the gorge, he invited 200 labourers and blasters (known as ‘barab’) from Italy to Bohemia, who, in practically just a few months, built the dam, constructed access roads to the gorge, viewing points, promenades and also tunnels – with the help of fire and water,” says Zdeněk Pánek, mayor of Hřensko, recounting a little of the history of the Tichá Gorge, which the princely family officially opened on 4 May 1890.

Edmund Clary-Aldringen did not stop at the gorges. In 1891, he had the Sokol’s Nest built right next to the Pravčice Gate, as well as several hotels in Hřensko and at Mezní Louka. A year later, he also commissioned a six-kilometre walking trail along the Křídelní Walls, which is arguably the park’s most popular trail today.

He named it ‘Gabrielina stezka’ in honour of his sister Leontina Gabriela. Incidentally, Hřensko hides another point of interest that lies off the beaten track for most visitors… The old gasworks were built by German workers in 1905. You’ll find it roughly in the centre of the village, in a narrow side ravine, where it was situated so that, in the event of an explosion, it would not endanger the inhabited houses in the village. Today, it houses a restaurant with accommodation.