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of SOUTH BOHEMIA |
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of SOUTH BOHEMIA |
Some basic technical and historical information:
| Length: | 120 km |
| Gauge: | 1106 mm |
Commencement of operations:
| Ceske Budejovice (CZ) - Kerschbaum (A) | Sept. 30, 1828 | |
| Kerschbaum (A) - Linz (A) | June 1st, 1830 | |
| Commencement of steam operation: | Sept. 1st, 1872 | |
Sources: The following information comes from three main sources: (1) The Czech website Konesprezna Draha, part of the Cesky Krumlov regional information website, which is also where the pictures come from. Feel free to visit their website for more information about the Cesky Krumlov region. (2) The excellent booklet "Die Pferdeeisenbahn", published by the Freunde der Pferdeeisenbahn, based in Kerschbaum, Austria. You can visit their webpages by clicking here, http://www.pferdeeisenbahn.at/mainframe.htm, but they are only in German. (3) The book "Zapomenute Zeleznice", by Radovan Rebstock, published by Nakladatelstvi Dr. Radovan Rebstock, Susice.
Click on the pictures below to see an enlarged image, use your browser's back button to return.
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| Historical sketch of transporting salt |
By the 13th century, a number of ideas had already been proposed the facilitate the transport by constructing a canal between the Danube and Vltava Rivers, but at the time, these proposals were unfeasable due to their complexity and a lack of engineering technology. However, the Industrial Revolution during the 18th century brought with it many technical innovations in mechanical and civil engineering, and the concept of a land link across the Sumava Mountains began to seem achievable, and many old projects were dusted off and reviewed in the light of these new advances.
In 1807 the director of the Prague Technical School, Franz Josef Gerstner, was assigned the task of reviewing current proposals for building such a link. After carefully studying the terrain and the latest available technology, he put forth his idea. Instead of the long awaited water canal, he shocked the engineering community by proposing the construction of a railway, with trains to be drawn by horse. At that time, railways were already a fairly common thing in Britain, but on the Continent, this was the first project of its kind. It was met with doubt and mistrust, and was set aside.
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| Historical sketch of passenger trains on the line |
In 1820, Gerstner's son, Franz Antonin Gerstner, then a professor at the Vienna Polytechnical School, was asked to take up the project again. To understand his father's plan better, he travelled to England to study the details of railway construction for himself. When he saw Stephenson's railway, he became convinced that the future of transportation lay not in horse power, but in steam. After returning to Austria, he set to work on the project, and on September 7th, 1824, the Emperor Franz I granted a charter for the construction and operation of a "wood and iron road", and the "First Austrian Railway Company" was formed. In the spring of 1825, a call was put out for workers, and in the summer, construction finally began.
During construction, Gerstner made a number of changes to the original plan, intending to adapt the track to locomotive operation later on. These changes upset the investors, as they led to increased costs. Even without these changes, however, construction costs soared high above original estimates, due to increases in the cost of materials. This led to the decision to change the terminus from Linz to Mauthausen, some 30 km downstream of Linz.
Finally, on September 7th 1827, the first horse drawn train travelled over the track, led by a mechanic of the Prague Technical School, Josef Bozek, bringing construction materials to the workers from Budejovice. One year later, on September 30th, 1828, the Czech section, to Kerschbaum, was completed. On this track, one horse was able to pull up to 3 times heavier loads than on normal roads. The people were amazed.
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However, Gerstner was plagued by the mounting costs, and mounting arguments which accompanied them, and a number of investors lost interest in the project and withdrew. Eventually, he decided he'd had enough, and with regret mingled with relief, stepped down. His position was taken over by a young engineer named Matyas Schönerer, who drew up a construction plan for the rest of the line which kept expenses to an absolute minimum by abandoning the idea of steam locomotives. For example, on Gerstner's section, the smallest curve radius was 189.6 metres, whereas on Schönerer's section it was only 37.9 m, which was fine for horses, but would prevent any locomotive from running on the line. The railway was finally completed, and the first train arrived in Linz from Ceske Budejovice June 1st, 1830.
There were five horse-changing stations along the the track - Holkov, Bujanov, Kerschbaum, Lest and Oberndorf. Passenger trains travelled regularly once a day, departing from both terminus stations at 5 a.m. They crossed at noon at the midpoint station Kerschbaum, where there was a one hour break for lunch in the first station restaurant in Europe. The trains covered the entire distance in 14 hours.
Steam operations were implemented on the line September 1st, 1872. In the meantime, the northern section (Gerstner's section) had to be modified to allow use of the locomotive, the southern section (Schönerer's section) had to be completely rebuilt.
In 1970 the remains of the Horse Drawn Railway were declared a national cultural monument.
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| Preserved remains of the track in Holkov, photo by V. Simecek |
Map of the Horse Railway
The towns listed on the map above have a few remnants of the horse railway, some of which are restored and open to the public. Some things to see are:
Ceske Budejovice - A number of buildings have survived here, including some staion buildings and the salt warehouse.
Holkov - Station building and horse stables.
Bujanov - Former station building.
Psenice - Guard's house and remains of track.
Kerschbaum - Station building is now a great museum with lots of interesting items, and a cafe. The Friends have restored a section of track and offer excursions in their restored carriages.
Southern Bohemia is an immensely popular tourist destination in all seasons, with lots to entertain and amaze everyone. The area of Austria where the horse railway is located, called the "Muhlviertel", or "Mill Quarter", is also rich in historical sights and beautiful natural scenery. For more information, feel free to take a look at these sites:
CZECH.CZ General information for travellers and the curious.
CZECH TRAVEL The "official" Czech travel guide
PRAGUE TRANSPORT Trams and buses from the history of Prague's city transport.
CESKE DRAHY Czech National Railways info and timetables.
AUTOBUS Information and timetables for the national bus operators.
ENTHUSIAST'S GUIDE to Czech Railways. Some general info for railfans. For any other questions or comments, drop me a line at orchestrion@seznam.cz
I am a Canadian railfan working as a private language teacher (and occasional tour guide) in the Czech Republic. I've been here going on 6 years now, (plus another 2 years when it was still Czechoslovakia), and have travelled quite a bit around the country. If you have any questions about travelling here, feel free to contact me, and I'll try to give you whatever advice I can.
