Kamnitz Gorge

The Kamnitzklamm, also known as Edmund Gorge is a canyon between Hřensko ( Herrnskretschen ) Mezná and Srbská Kamenice in Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. Through them the Kamnitz which opens at Hřensko into the Elbe flows.

History

The Kamnitzschlucht was traveled in 1877 for the first time by young men. Prince Edmund Clary - Aldringens left the way through the gorges of the Italian construction workers, led by the architect Anton Dagostini extend for 17,000 guilders in 1889. 1890 was the boat traffic in the " Edmundsklamm " even "Silent Deep " ( tschech.: Edmundova Soutěska or Ticha Soutěska ) was added. The " Wild Gorge " ( tschech.: Divoká Soutěska ) followed by 1898 in 1881 there was already a boat trip to the base mill in the subsequent " Ferdinand Gorge " which is still set. .

Flora

The gorge is a unique in the mid-latitude canyon landscape dar. In the deep canyons collects cold air, so that submontane and montane plant species in an unusual height of about 200 meters above sea thrive. These include the Zweiblütige violets ( Viola biflora ), the seven-pointed star ( Trientalis europaea ) and the common spruce (Picea Abies ). In addition, accumulate here by the riverside, various moss and ferns, such as the fern ( Blechnum spicant ), the firs Devils claw ( Huperzia ) or Snake club moss ( Lycopodium annotinum ).

At the foot of the canyon grows a forest of fir, spruce, beech and partially sycamore. Where the otherwise narrow gorge allowed the formation of a floodplain, were parts of a subcontinental alder-ash riparian forest ( Arunco ​​sylvestris Alnetum glutinosae ) with the typical plant forest - Geißbart ( Aruncus sylvestris ) were obtained.

The prominent placement of the reefs are covered by acidophilic pine forests with birch loosely distributed. Since man is no longer engaged here, these reefs are a valuable ecosystem, but these rarely encountered in our part of the plants are pressed more and more of the non-native here Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus ). From an ecological point to be made between the on the southern slope and situated on the northern slope pine forests a difference. The standing mostly in the shade of pine trees on the north side have adapted to the somewhat wetter and colder climate and have a wetter form of training. At a little less steep rocky reefs close to the acidophilous beech forests and in the flat layers make pine-oak forests with lingonberry and blueberry shrub vegetation wide.

Fauna

Different bird species are native to the streams of the Bohemian Switzerland. In addition to the wagtail, the wagtail, dipper and wren here is the kingfisher resident. There is also in the gorge different species of dragonflies and otters. Headquartered fish species are the brook lamprey and the grayling. By 1923, also salmon were caught. Since 1998, hundreds of thousands of young salmon were exposed in the Kamnitz of a project. These animals swim across the Elbe to the sea to the waters around Iceland and come to around 4 years back. It was necessary to build fish ladders at the points of the jammed Kamnitz. In 2002, the first returnees were spotted again.