vodárna v Obřím dole Waterworks

The water plant in Giant Down is a unique technical monument in the historic style. It is located in the central part of the Giant National Park on the cadastral territory of the municipality Pec pod Sněžkou in Trutnov district in Králové Hradec region. This building was built in 1912. Since then, he has served for the supply of water to the Czech hut at the top of the Snowball with a water trench and Pelton turbine. In January 1996 this building was declared a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

The development of the water plant dates back to 1912. The Czech countries were then in the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy in a period of turbulent industrial development and technical features. In Europe, Belle Époque culminated and the tensions leading to the First World War gradually increased. The object on the Red Stream was built by Count Rudolf Czernin-Morzin. After his mother's death in 1907, he inherited large-scale property in the Giant Mountains, including locks in Vrchlaby and Upper Maršov. Prior to the construction of the water plant, 12 carriers provided water to the top of Snowball. They regularly removed it from the Golden Spring near the Giant Shack, or the snow melted in winter.

It is an architectural stone building. It's made of granite blocks and has a counter roof. The roof is covered with rocks and grass-ridden airfields. A substantial part of the original technical equipment was preserved inside the building. This includes the Pelton turbine, the vertical piston pump, the bars and the entrance door. The water from the Red Creek was collected into three tanks. From there, from a height of 150 meters, it went into the turbine. There was a connected pump that drove the water through a 40 millimeter diameter pipe into the tank in the attic of the Czech hut. The original extruder height was 392 meters. This at the time was the highest displacement height of such a facility in Europe. The device was able to transport 2,000 to 4,000 litres of water to the top of Snowy daily.

After Count Rudolf Czernin-Morzin took over the administration and ownership of the Krkonose National Park Administration at a later time. The water works were in operation until the 1950s. Due to insufficient maintenance and poor water supply, she ceased to function at that time. In the absence of water in the stream used to draw back-up diese aggregate. The Czech kennel itself has served tourists since 1868. It was closed in 1990 on a proposal from health care professionals. After that, the city of Pec pod Sněžkou left it for a symbolic crown of the National Park of Krkonose. It ensured the liquidation of this building in autumn 2004.

A key milestone in the history of the building was the year 1912 associated with construction. Another was January 1996, when the building was declared a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. The third year was 2022, when the Krkonose National Park Administration had the cost of roughly a quarter of a million crowns from the funds of the Operational Programme Environment to repair the various parts of the historical waterworks. During this renewal, the stone roof, outside facade and internal plaster were repaired. The new paint was given to the turbine, the bars, and the front door.

Today, the abandoned forest land water plant is freely available at an altitude of approximately 1230 metres from the outside. Next to it leads a blue marked hiking trail from the Pec pod Snežka Giant mine around the former Kovárny up to the Giant saddle. The route from the kiln to where the giant shed used to stand is named as kevin's path. It bears the memory of the professor of botany Karl Kavina, who co-participated in the establishment of the Giant National Park. The total pedestrian route from the centre of the kilometer to the waterworks is five kilometres. In winter, however, the trip by the Giant Mine is closed due to an avalanche danger. In the immediate vicinity is the ore stream spring at an altitude of 1300 metres. It consists of crystalline limestone. About three dozen metres northeast of the former waterworks begins with a system of waterfalls and cascades, the highest of which is 16 metres.

This monument represents an important evidence of technical maturity and industrial development in the early twentieth century in mountain areas. Visiting the Giant Mine offers a unique opportunity to get to know historical water works in the authentic natural environment of the Giant National Park.