Article Midsummer currents

From Štěchovice to Slapy, an attractive hiking trail measuring about 7.5 kilometers leads along the left bank of the Vltava. However, it leads in places over challenging rocky terrain and is therefore unexpectedly challenging. It runs along the slopes of the rocks above the river and there are even two tunnels carved on it.

The journey begins at the Štěchovice dam, which forms the second part of the Vltava cascade. It is interesting that the local lock chamber is the highest in the Czech Republic with a height of 20.1 m.

The dam of the Štěchovice waterworks with a power plant is quite well known. It is much less known that a large lake for a pumped storage power plant is created on the ridge of the Homole hill above the power plant. A massive pressure pipeline runs from the valley reservoir to the accumulation reservoir on the hill.

The area of Svatojánské streams has become a popular destination for trips since 1865, when the Prague Steamship Company launched a shipping line from Prague to Štěchovice. Therefore, on May 11, 1889, the Czech Tourist Club marked the first marked tourist route here. In 2014, the replica of this route was re-marked with period markers.

After less than a kilometer, we reach the valley of the stream, which the old hikers called the Yukon. Gradually, tramp cabins grew up here and thanks to the ferry operated by Mr. Fábera, there was a settlement called Na Fáberce. Today we find several well-maintained tramp huts.

In the deep valley between the villages of Třebenice and Štěchovice, the Vltava created a seven-kilometer-long rapeseed section with a slope of about 20 meters. Numerous rocks and wild rapids presented unpleasant difficulties for raftsmen. According to the statue of St. Jan Nepomucký, erected by the river in 1722, this wild section was named „Midsummer Streams“.

After 1865, tourists began to discover this romantic part of the river. Even tourist „adventure“ cruises were organized here. Today, wild rapids and rocks are below the surface of the Štěchovice dam.

After three kilometers we reach the settlement Ztracenka, which is probably the most famous tramp settlement. The first settlers camped here after the First World War. Many famous people used to come here, such as Jarek Mottl. Zdeněk Burian or Jarda Štercl.

The trail continues between the rocks and offers a number of beautiful views of the river and the opposite rocks, on which there are well-known views of May and Smetana.

Some sections require extra care and are not suitable for smaller children.

An interesting feature of this trail are two tunnels cut into the rocks.

The last settlement on this trail is the settlement „Svatojánské proudy“. The first settlers appeared here around 1910 and gradually built wooden log cabins of the Canadian type.

We are approaching the end of the route, which is in the village of Třebenice below the Slapy dam. This is the first dam built on the Vltava after II. St. war. The height of the dam is 70 m and the length 200 m. At the bottom view of the dam, there are four massive overflows.

The river has been used since time immemorial to transport wood and salt. In an effort to alleviate its savagery, Emperor Ferdinand III ordered. in 1640 to blast the most dangerous rock in the place of today's Slapy dam. Ferdinand's column was erected here in 1643. Prior to filling the Slapy Dam, the column was moved to its current location under the dam.

In 1722, a statue of St. was erected next to Ferdinand's column. Jan Nepomucký – patron saint of swimmers. According to him, the whole area was named. The statue we can see next to the road from the river is a copy from 1908.