The Šumava Mountain Woodlands: Transformation due to the human interaction (not only in 19th century)
Abstract
The highland areas of the Šumava Mountains in southwest Bohemia underwent fundamental changes as a result of industrialisation in 19th century. It affected the local woodlands (previously only seldom touched) and the consequences of this are still being faced to this present day.
These dramatic changes were a result of the spread of lumberman settlements in the region, triggered by an increased demand in firewood for industrial use within the Czech basin, particularly in Prague (and also Vienna). The opportunity to profit from the firewood trade in the Šumava region grabbed the attention of the noble Schwarzenberg family who purchased extensive areas of woodland in the Šumava region.
The family built two large canal systems which enabled the transport of timber - using water power MINUS SIGN from these remote mountain locations to the urban timber markets. These two canal systems (bulit in c. 1800) are known as the Schwarzenbersky Canal and the Vchynicko- Tetovsky Canal, on which is this project focused on, using methods of landscape archaeology and interdisciplinar approach.
The canal was in use for over 120 years and from its very beginnings had a heavy impact upon the surrounding landscape and woodlands. Even though today's Šumava Mountain landscape - a protected natural area and national park - is not a typical industrial landscape, its present form is undeniably influenced by activities from the 19th century industrial period.
The timber trade caused irreversible and far-reaching changes which have lasted throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in the Šumava mountain region.