Discover Karel Klostermann’s Path: Embark on a Šumava Adventure Inspired by His Novels!

Following in Klostermann’s Footsteps

Today, you can walk the Klostermann Nature Trail. While many of the sites may have changed or vanished since Karel Klostermann’s time, they still possess their own distinct charm. With excerpts from his writings, you’ll rediscover Šumava as it once was.

This is the Šumava that “resonates like a melancholic song, penetrating the heart unavoidably. Endless forests and moors stretch out before us, narrating an epic that stands unmatched—an epic of a grand family that nature nurtured, only to later obliterate,” as described in his book, Lines from the Bohemian Forest.

The trail begins at Rokyta, not far from the Vchynicko-Tetov Canal, and stretches to Horní Hrádky, where Klostermann often visited his aunt, Theresia Schullhauser. You will pass the Visitor Centre, home to a wolf enclosure, and continue to Prostřední Hrádky, where the birthplace of Klostermann’s father, physician Josef Klostermann, once stood. Next, you will arrive at Dolní Hrádky, which used to host a mill called Tischlermühle on the Hrádecký Brook, where Klostermann’s cousin, Cecilie Häusler, lived.

Journey to the Hauswald Chapel

The nature trail concludes in Srní, where Klostermann would visit relatives, but your adventure doesn’t need to stop here. If you wish, you can continue along the green-marked Deer Circle and explore the Vchynicko-Tetovský Navigation Canal trail. What can you expect? Information on ancient timber navigation, magnificent views from Klostermann’s lookout point overlooking the Vydra River valley , Otava, and, on the opposite side, the Dragon Rocks or the Sedel reservoir, from which water flows through the so-called Water Castle to the Vydra power plant at Čeněk Pila.

The pathway along the navigation channel skirts around Srní from the west, encircling Kostelní vrch, and heads south toward Modrava. Before reaching Modrava, the route offers a side path to a fascinating location steeped in legends, where the Hauswald Chapel once stood. This sanctuary was demolished in the mid-20th century but it is still home to a miraculous spring believed to heal various ailments. The area is beautifully maintained, featuring a nature trail around Kostelní vrch, where stops are adorned with quotes from Klostermann’s novels.

More Recommendations for Klostermann Enthusiasts

• • Many locations are linked to the writer’s life; he was born in The Hague, Austria, but soon moved with his family to Bohemia. They first settled in Zichovice and later in Kašperské Hory. A significant portion of his life was spent in Pilsen, where he taught at a German state school. He spent his final years in a chateau in Štěkno near Strakonice.

• • Today, you can explore the Šumava region, particularly around places featured in his novels. For instance, the former Polauf’s inn, where the story of In the Šumava Paradise begins, is still located in Horská Kvilda. If you take a closer look, you’ll find a wooden statue of the legendary character Rankl-Sepp, who is also mentioned in the story.

• • The plot of the novel From the World of Forest Solitudes is set in Březník, situated in the Luzen valley near the German border.

• • The novel The Glassmakers, in which Klostermann incorporated many tales from his mother’s background, who belonged to a renowned glassmaking family, is associated with The Mountain by the Mouseketeers. This village was lost in the mid-20th century, but is remembered by a solitary structure: the former cemetery chapel of St. Cross, which served as the family crypt for the Abel and Hafenbrändl glassmaking families.

• • Today, Klostermann’s cottage in Modrava was established a year after the writer’s passing, thanks to the Czechoslovak Tourist Club.