Plešné jezero
Nature · Nová Pec · Czechia
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A glacial lake in a cirque below Plechý, the highest peak of the Czech Šumava, framed by a 250 m rock wall. A 14.5 m granite monument to writer Adalbert Stifter stands on the cliff above. Reach it by bike on route 1026 from Nová Pec-Láz, then the final stretch on foot.
Plešné jezero fills a glacial cirque beneath Plechý, the highest summit of the Czech Šumava, hemmed in by a rock wall roughly 250 m high with a 40 m terminal moraine at its outlet. The lake covers 7.5 hectares and reaches 18.3 m at its deepest point, its outflow feeding the Jezerní stream toward the Vltava. A Rožmberk regent, Jakub Krčín z Jelčan, made the first recorded exploration of the lake on 6 June 1567. In the 19th century, engineer Josef Rosenauer reinforced the natural moraine into a dam so the lake could serve as a water reservoir for the Schwarzenberg timber-floating canal. A granite monument to Adalbert Stifter, the Šumava-born writer, was raised on the cliff above the lake between 1876 and 1877. A stone marker from 1868 on the shore, visible when water levels drop, commemorates a visit by the young Prince Johann of Schwarzenberg. Local legend holds that a former commander's treasure lies sunk in the lake, and that the rock face opens to it only on Good Friday.
What you see
The lake sits still and dark beneath the sheer, pale rock wall of Plechý's cirque, the granite Stifter monument perched high on the cliff above the water.
Practical
Reachable by bike via cycle route 1026 to bike racks near the shore, though the final rocky stretch is best walked. Parking is at the paid Nová Pec-Láz lot; arrive early in peak season. Access is restricted for wildlife protection roughly from 1 November to 15 April.
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Common questions
- Why stop at Plešné jezero on a bike ride?
- A glacial lake in a cirque below Plechý, the highest peak of the Czech Šumava, framed by a 250 m rock wall. A 14.5 m granite monument to writer Adalbert Stifter stands on the cliff above. Reach it by bike on route 1026 from Nová Pec-Láz, then the final stretch on foot.
- Where is Plešné jezero?
- Plešné jezero is in Nová Pec, Czechia (Czech Republic).