Klostermannova chata Mountain cottage

Welcome to Blue. You are standing in one of the most impressive places in Šumava, where mountains touch the sky and where the air carries the scent of pine trees and pure mountain mornings. In front of you is Klostermannova chata, a building that is not just an ordinary tourist sanctuary, but a living witness of the many decades that have taken place here. Feel the atmosphere, feel the silence of the surrounding forests, and shatter the height, because right here, in a thousand meters above the sea, on the slope above Blue, human history collides with the unruly force of nature. Take a look at this wooden structure and try to imagine how many generations of pilgrims, tourists and soldiers sought shelter under this roof both from storms and from fatalities.

Let us now return together to the time when the first foundations were laid here. Imagine 1924. Czechoslovakia is a young, enthusiastic state and people want to discover their own beauty. The club of Czechoslovak tourists then came with great intention - to create a place that would serve all nature lovers. The construction was an ambitious project. At that time, the amount of one million forty-one thousand five hundred crowns that cost the completion of the cottage was absolutely stunning. It wasn't just a cabin, it was a famous building, a symbol of modern tourism and love for our mountains.

Now pay attention to the architecture itself, which you are now observing. Look at how the building is integrated into the field. This whole proposal belongs to a man named Bohuslav Fuchs. He was an architect who knew how to combine modern needs with tradition. Notice the typical shumava wooden architecture. The construction does not act as a foreign body in the landscape, but rather as if it had grown directly from the rock and wood of this valley. Its traditional appearance, working with material and the way the cottage adapts to slope slope are proof of the architect's championship. Although the building changed over the years, especially during the extensive reconstruction between 2002 and 2004, its soul and its ability to fit harmonically into the Šumava landscape remained preserved.

But this cabin has more than just wood and stones in it. It also has human stories that are deeply imprinted into its walls. Imagine that excited moment where there was a base stone. The author Karel Klostermann himself was present here. He knocked the stone, he put his faith and his love of these mountains into this building. At the same time, however, it is a sad story, because the famous author did not get to finish his building. But his name remained here as if he wanted to link his literary work to this place forever.

But history has not always been about calm and tourist walks. Do you know this cabin has gone through a very dark time? When World War II broke out, the atmosphere of Blue was shattered. Between 1940 and 1945, the building was taken by force by German forces. The place to serve the rest and joy of nature became the headquarters of the Wehrmacht. Imagine the contrast - instead of laughing tourists and the silence of the forest there was a strict military order and shadows of war. After the end of the conflict, however, in 1945, the cottage returned to the hands of Czechoslovak forces, namely, it became the seat of the Border Corps. Each next decade left its mark, from the postwar years to the recognition of its historical value in 1996, when it was declared a cultural monument.

If you look at the building again, you might find one interesting thing that will help you better understand how much the world has changed since its inception. Imagine 1938. At that time the price of the bed in the cottage was only eight crowns. If you were looking for a more modest bed and breakfast in the dormitories, you would only pay five crowns. These are times when the journey to the mountains was not resolved by modern technologies but by simple joy of movement and proximity to nature. Today, these amounts may seem like from another world, but it is these little details that tell us how deep the roots of this place are.

Now that you know the history and the fates associated with this construction, I suggest you just keep walking. Klostermannova chata will continue to stand here, as guardian of the Šumava roads and a memoir of all those who sought peace here. Feel the atmosphere that comes back here with every sunrise and every evening shadow that falls over the slopes of Blue. Thank you for stopping by and paying attention to this place. Read the Šumava wind and enjoy every minute of your journey in these beautiful mountains. Goodbye.