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Out of reach

Pinned in by the Šumava, south Bohemian mayors dream of building ski lift to Austria

By Victor Velek
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
September 12th, 2007 issue

Photo courtesy of HOCHFICHT BERGBAHNEN
Towns across the border from Austria's Hochficht resort, above, hope to cash in on the destination's popularity with winter tourists.
In summer, the towns of Nová Pec and Horní Planá in the Šumava Mountains’ Lipno region, south Bohemia, draw plenty of tourist crowds. But, in the fall, winter and early spring, they turn into sleepy, forgotten places.
Local mayors and businesses hope that a ski-lift project that was first conceived not long after the fall of communism can prolong the local tourist season and boost the region. But, located as they are within environmentally protected lands, each proposal floated by the towns has been shot down out of concern for the nearby Šumava Nature Reserve.
“Tourism is our only hope,” said Jiří Hůlka, a mayor of Horní Planá, home to some 2,300 residents. After the 1989 revolution, the region was hit by an economic depression, as traditional businesses went bankrupt and agriculture became less extensive. “The last large, long-existing employer — a wooden-frame factory — closed down last year,” Hůlka said.
The summer unemployment rate sits at 4 percent but soars to 20 percent in winter, according to Hůlka.
“Today, our tourist season lasts six weeks or so,” Hůlka said. “A winter sports center could make life and business here sustainable,” annually injecting the region with approximately 240 million Kč ($11.8 million), he estimates.
However, after more than a decade of negotiations between environmentalists and local mayors, the towns’ dreams are still far from reality, as each increasingly modest proposal prepared by the region has gone nowhere.
Most recently, in late August, the Environment Ministry rejected a proposed ski lift to Hraničník Mountain, located on the Czech-Austrian border. After bolder versions of the project were rejected, this latest “soft version” was designed to simply transport enthusiasts to the Hochficht ski resort, across the border in Austria.
The environmental risks the project would run were unacceptable, the ministry said.
“The increased number of visitors could result in land erosion and irreversible damages to precious ecosystems,” said Jarmila Krebsová, Environment Ministry spokeswoman. Czech, Austrian and German environmental groups jointly protested the project as well, sending a letter to Environment Minister Martin Bursík.
However, while Bursík is against the lift to Hraničník, he seems more open to an alternative resort plan. Nearby Špičák Mountain, located outside the nature reserve in the Boletice region and currently reserved for military uses, like training, would be a much better location for a lift, the ministry said.
“Minister Bursík will initiate a meeting with [Defense] Minister Parkanová on the issue,” Krebsová said.
This is welcome news for Hůlka.
“It’s a positive step forward,” he said. “Now, we know what variant is acceptable. But this has taken almost 15 years.”
Powder power
Austria’s Hochficht ski resort is a great source of inspiration for the mayors. In winter, tourist money rumbles down to the resort from the Czech Republic like an avalanche.
“Dozens of buses and hundreds of cars with skiers are passing through the village to get to  Hochficht,” said Zuzana Janátová, mayor of Nová Pec.
Not only do they not spend money in Nová Pec, but the heavy traffic damages the roads and pollutes the environment, Janátová added. She hoped the lift to Hraničník would give Czech skiers the opportunity to lodge and eat in Nová Pec and other local towns while skiing on the Hochficht runs.
Senator Tomáš Jirsa of the Civic Democrats, elected by constituents in the Lipno region and involved for several years in the project, also looks beyond the frontier for inspiration.
“On the Austrian and German parts of the mountains, there are thriving ski resorts, making the winter time a successful tourist season,” he said.
There are positive examples of regional development in the area, Jirsa said, pointing to the town of Lipno nad Vltavou. The town, featuring a marina and a ski resort, has gradually turned into a local tourist magnet.
“Since 1989, approximately 1.3 billion Kč has been invested there,” Jirsa said. “For many neighboring villages, it’s an example they want to emulate.”
While Jirsa still believes the project by Hraničník can be pushed through, Hůlka is looking forward to the more promising Špičák option.
“With a clear statement of what is feasible for the environmentalists, we are finally finding ourselves on firm ground,” he said.
The regional government is also looking in this direction. Last year, it signed a preliminary agreement with the previous environment and defense ministers on opening the Špičák area.
However, the regional government still supports the Hraničník project.
“[The Špičák ski resort] is not an alternative or competitor to the idea of using the Hraničník area,” said spokeswoman Maria Ptáčková. “It remains in the region’s prepared land-use plan as a ski sports location.”

Victor Velek can be reached at vvelek@praguepost.com


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