“The situation on Sněžka and its vicinity has significantly improved. Although the measures we have introduced this year are working, we need to expand them further. There are so many people looking for other places to enter, “said Drahný.
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On the eastern slope of Sněžka, where the network now ends, there is an unprotected section about 50 meters long. Another place on Sněžka, where the barrier will be added, is a bend under the peak on the Czech side of the mountain, where people shorten their way through open terrain.
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The paradox of restraint
“Some people feel that once the restraint is over, they can afford everything. They do not realize that they are in a quiet area, where they are not allowed to enter the open terrain, “said Drahný.
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We have to fence off the whole space so that people can stay where they are
KRNAP spokesman Radek Drahný
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The installation of additional barriers is a reaction of the park to the long-term disrespect of the ban on people entering the valuable alpine lawns and rocks and the increasing attendance of the highest Czech mountain. The peak of Sněžka is one of the most valuable things that nature in the Giant Mountains has to offer.
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About 300 meters of net will be added to Obří sedlo. “It simply came to our notice then. But people moved into triangles between the road from Obří dol and the paved road to Sněžka. It is an alpine lawn and a nesting place for rare bird species. We have to fence the whole space so that people stay where they have to, ”said Drahný.
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The net will collapse for the winter, when there is snow, there is no danger of nature being damaged. This is not the only measure to protect nature there. “The moment someone does not respect the entry bans, we will distribute fines. We go from prevention to repression. Until now, we have solved the offenses by agreement, now there is no reason to tolerate the violation of the ban on entering the open terrain in a quiet area, “said Drahný. Unruly visitors to the mountains can be fined up to 10,000 crowns on the spot.
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The average daily attendance of the top of Sněžka reaches 5,000 people, especially on weekends, when it is nice, up to twice as much. The Ministry of the Environment has commissioned the KRNAP Administration to create a mechanism to calm the situation on Sněžka. One option could be to introduce free time tickets to the top.
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“We are working on a mechanism and a system for how this could work. It’s at the very beginning, the details are coming soon. This method of regulation could become a pilot project for similarly congested protected localities in the Czech Republic, ”Drahný told ČTK.
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KRNAP is one of the most touristy national parks in Europe and its attendance is still growing. For example, in 2018, the park and its buffer zone were visited by 3.78 million people, who together spent 11.8 million days there.
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In KRNAP on 1 July, the delimitation of new nature protection zones came into force, dividing the NP territory into four nature protection zones instead of three. In the Giant Mountains, three quiet areas have also been declared, where tourists can walk only on marked routes.
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Eight quiet areas have been proposed, but so far three have been declared, namely the two largest in the ridges of the Giant Mountains and one at the top of Světlá and Černá hora.
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