The landscape of two skies

The Třeboň Nature House welcomes visitors “to the heart of the landscape of two skies” (krajina dvojího nebe). The image is exactly right. The Třeboň basin is flat – across the whole protected landscape area only 135 metres separate the lowest and highest points – and the fishponds are so large that on a still day they reflect the sky from horizon to horizon.

A landscape built by people

None of this is an accident. Originally this was waterlogged, marshy land. From the late 15th century, fishpond builders laid dams and canals across it: the Zlatá stoka (1508–1518), 45 kilometres long with a fall of less than 70 centimetres per kilometre, and later the Nová řeka and Rožmberk. The result is a landscape heavily shaped by people that nevertheless has exceptional natural value – which is why UNESCO made it a biosphere reserve as early as 1977.

When to come

• When there is no wind – most often early in the morning and in the early evening.
• In autumn – mist lingers over the canals and fishponds.
• To dams facing west – the Svět dam at sunset is the easiest choice.

Bring binoculars. The Třeboň area is a bird protection area, and in the evening there is more to hear over the water than to see.