#trosky

LOCATIONS — 247/262 — Ponds of the Trosky region

Today, there is a system of several ponds around the Trosky Castle. Although they were built in the 16th century, we decided to leave them in place because of the amazing views that their surroundings offer. The largest of the ponds is the Rocktower Pond, which covers an area of 9 hectares, the others are Vidlák, Rokytňák, Kerchak, Hrudka and Lower Pond. In the Middle Ages, Nebakov Fortress stood near Nebakov Pond. The area is now a nature reserve, called Podtrosecká Valley. It is the largest complex of wetland habitats in the Bohemian Paradise region and is home to many species of strictly protected organisms. If you ever decide to visit Trosky Castle, we recommend you stop by this nearby locality as well.

TRIVIA — Up until the 16th century, the ponds of the Podtrosecká údolí, the Podtrosecká valley, existed as a complex of wetlands, along a valley cut into the land by the rivers Jordánka and the Žehrovka, forming a natural canyon between the sandstone rocks. Around the water, the land was covered in swamps of black alder and spruce, deep forests of oak, birch or fir, full of wild blueberry bushes, narrow valleys between free-standing rock towers and rock plateaus. The water's force eroded the rocks, formed long fissure abysses in the cliffs as well as natural springs, the biggest of which were once believed to hold medicinal qualities. The wet ground was always used for agriculture, but with the creation of the ponds in the 16th century, the swampy wetland could be bundled in seven large water basins, making the ground around it more accessible, not only for farmland, but also for fishing and the milling trade. 18 mills are known to have existed in the valley, many of them active until 1952 and reaching back to the late Middle Ages. Among them the Podsemín, or Lower Semine, Mill, first mentioned in the 16th century. Until 1880, it used to be equipped with four waterwheels, of which one powered a sawmill, while the others were used for grain. The mill even had its own bakery, and at least after World War I Podsemín is known to have provided baking supplies for the surrounding villages.

After the Podtrosecká valley was declared a nature reserve, ending the agricultural use of the meadows, the original variety of flora could gradually overgrow the former farmland. Today the area is again inhabited by 146 different species of plants, 18 of which – like sedge or the round-leaved sundew – are protected. Within the reed beds and peat meadows, 126 different species of vertebrates live, many of those directly in and from the water. Kingfishers will live at the ponds, water and mountain wagtails nest in the rocks, next to lizards and mountain newts, and crayfish, clams and carps fill the water.