The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Dam Bedřichov

It was closed, but there was a cooler with an honesty box under the awning.

Nová Louka has a history closely linked to Bedřichov. A glassworks had been operating there since the end of the 16th century, which was run by Johann Josef Kittel in 1756. Because he was prospering successfully and the work of the Bedřichov glassworks was not enough to cover orders, he built a glassworks 2 km further north in the forests, around which a small settlement of several houses (of glassworks employees) arose in the following years. In the deep Jizera forests, there was enough wood available, necessary for lighting glass furnaces and for producing potash - an ingredient for glass raw materials. In 1769, Nová Louka came into the hands of the Riedel family, the most important glass entrepreneurs in the Jizera Mountains. In the middle of the 19th century, the glassworks stopped working due to increasingly unfavorable economic conditions (lack of wood, the advent of more modern technologies in glass production). The glassworks and its associated buildings were demolished, leaving only the so-called Manor House, which was rebuilt into a hunting lodge by the estate (owners of the Nové Louka land).

Šámalova chata, originally a hunting lodge of the Clam-Gallas family, was used during the First Republic by Dr. Přemysl Šámal, chancellor of President T. G. Masaryk. The interior was paneled with larch and the suite with a bathroom was furnished in the same way as in the Černín Palace. Today, the cottage is used by all tourists to recharge their batteries. Nová Louka is a retreat near Bedřichov located on the Blatný stream in the Jizera Mountains. The only building here today is Šámalova chata with a popular restaurant. The retreat is located near the Nová Louka nature reserve, which protects the local peat bog. Another name used today is Šámalova louka in memory of the period when the First Republic Chancellor Přemysl Šámal used the cottage.

The reservoir lies above the village of Josefuv Dul and is easily accessible from there. Many hikes into the Jizera Mountains start from here. The circular trail around the reservoir is well signposted and suitable for all types of sports. (There is no continuous paved road.)

There was delicious homemade cake. The staff is very friendly.

The dam is also known as the Czarna Nysa dam.

TIP: The following book describes the hikes in the Jizera Mountains, Giant Mountains and the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj) and the entire region in detail: Giant Mountains - Bohemian Paradise A travel guide for Bohemia with hikes in the Giant Mountains - Jizera Mountains - Bohemian Paradise & with a long-distance hike from Zittau to Jičín in the Bohemian Paradise Information about the book & possibility to order (free shipping): www.reise-karhu.de/reisebuecher/riesengebirge-boehmisches-paradies.html

TIP: The following book describes the hikes in the Jizera Mountains, Giant Mountains and the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj) and the entire region in detail: Giant Mountains - Bohemian Paradise A travel guide for Bohemia with hikes in the Giant Mountains - Jizera Mountains - Bohemian Paradise & with a long-distance hike from Zittau to Jičín in the Bohemian Paradise Information about the book & possibility to order (free shipping): www.reise-karhu.de/reisebuecher/riesengebirge-boehmisches-paradies.html