Travel Stories - Czech Republic

"darkoviche"



introduction


Via the city "Hlucin" there is some confusement about our next destination; you’ve got Darkovicky and Darkoviche and we want to go to the latter. First we drive through "Darkovicky" and I suddenly see the sign with the bunkers on it - it must be really close now. The landscape here is sloping with forest here and there. From the bus window I see the bunkers and Pete walks to the driver to ask if we can get out of here. Just before the village "Darkoviche" it is about one or two 2 kilometers away. The sun is shining and we decide to continue to the first house to ask for some water for tonight. Back at the crossroads we see that there are several bunkers to visit but follow the sign with museum. We can not resist taking a few photos of the tanks (T-34's) and the “Katusja” rocket that we see along the road. First a piece along the barbed wire and dragon's teeth. We walk along the edge of the forest and rapeseed fields towards a piece of forest where there is certainly a good place for us for tonight. From our place we can see the main bunker, the road and we first put up the tent before it might rain again. Since we have already eaten, we make tea, I find a place to go to the toilet and then start our "cheap” supermarket wine. It is about ten o'clock when we both look for our tent and crawl into our sleeping bag.


"The lost line"


It has been kinda chilly again last night and I even woke up a few times from the cold but also from the barking of dogs and deer. In the morning it is immediately jacket-time while the steam comes out of your mouth. Then it’s time to hang things outside to air. We eat breakfast quickly and we’re planning to visit the main bunker first that serves as a museum. The old man armed with a hat points us to the other bunkers in the neighborhood. Don’t know exactly what he means but we decide then to walk past the many dragon's teeth, crosses, barbed wire barriers and a tankside to the other big bunker. After storing our large bags in the museum under some grenades, we walk across the road, along the busy car route to the grounds of this bunker that has not been renovated. It is very quiet here and we see two benches in the sun with a beautiful view of the bunkers that the Czechoslovaks should have protected against the Nazis in 1938. Nothing was less true due to the "Munich Conference" and these bunkers were without blow or punch. When the Russians invaded Europe, the Nazis would use these strongholds against the invasion of the Bolsheviks.


Bunker MO-S 19 "V Aleji"


The beautiful terrain here is surrounded by different sizes of dragon's teeth and the whole gives a mystical feeling. Pete and I know that we should have stayed here between these defenses, but it was late yesterday and our bags were heavy from the load. Walking down the road we see more and more bunkers - these are much smaller as you can see a lot for instance in the Dutch landscape. Also here barbed wire and a tank wall. In addition to the small bunker that you can not see, a Russian monument is surrounded by pine trees. Near the parking lot we find a fully loaded garage with so-called barbed wire holders and different types of obstacles that are also used on the beaches of Normandy part of the Atlantic wall. We take a look and walk back to the museum which is located in bunker MO-S 19 "V Aleji" which stands for the region. The old man speaks German fairly well and wants to give us a personal tour through the bunker. The man says that these bunkers are part of the Czechoslovakian defense line built on the border between 1935 and 1938. The main task of this line was to cope with a possible German or Hungarian invasion. 

 

This bunker has been completely renovated, consists of two floors and a kind of domes have been set up. We get a glimpse into the different rooms and spaces of the bunker starting with the rubbish bin that was put outside the bunker and where used ammunition ended up. By means of a peephole you could see everything that happened in that bin and beyond. We see the camouflaged windows where you could put a machine gun in, but could also close it with an armored-window. Two domes were for observation while one was used as a machine gunnest. Our guide tells us that the bunkers were built in about 200 days (between 1935 and 1938) but that the concrete was poured in, in barely a week. Sleeping places, ammunition rooms, two large cannons, a water source and water containers, a supply room, a kitchenette and an original communication machine. In addition, we see the field telephone (and ordinary telephone). Around 19 Czech soldiers stayed here in peacetime while during wartime some 36 men were stationed here. We give the man a tip after we have taken some pictures, while this actually costs extra money and thank him for the good explanation. It’s time to go back to Ostrava.



tips & advice (2014)


Darkoviche - Ostrava: there are regular buses between Darkoviche and the Polish border and Ostrava.


  • Name: "Darkovitche - Fort Hlucin"

Address: Between the village Darkoviche - Darkovichy

Price: 40 Crowns

Time: v.a. 10:00 (only by means of guided tours)

 

Content:

As part of the Czech-Slovak bunke- line built between 1936 and 1938, there are three bunkers here that give you a reasonably good picture of how the line that ran along the entire border with Germany and Hungary was built and looked like. One of the large bunkers is now decorated as a museum. You get a personal tour from someone who speaks very little English but reasonably good German in a very friendly atmosphere. Because the bunker has been completely renovated, you can clearly see how it “worked” here in wartime - unfortunately the bunker was only used by the Nazis when the Russians invaded Europe. Sleeping places, the guns, domes, communication room, peepholes and a large machine gun can all be seen from close by. For photos you have to pay extra officially. There are a number of tanks stationed outside, but also a katusja rocket installation, and dragon's teeth. The other bunkers are kept in original condition. Unfortunately, no additional information is available in English or another language. For us it was very worthwhile because it is located in a very rural area.


  • Name: wild camping spot "Bunkerline"

 

Content:

Right in front of the main bunker of "Darkoviche" (the museum) is a forest (you have to walk along the rapeseed field and edge of the forest) where you can spend a night or so. It is a few meters further than the tank and the "Katusja" rocket installation. The road is quite busy but in the forest you are alone and there are plenty of pine trees to hide in between. In addition, there is a kind of valley but enough flat pieces to put your tent on top. This gives you the opportunity to be the first to come to the bunker museum in the early morning where you are personally shown around.


Spending time:

You can easily spend a whole day here if you are interested. An hour in the museum and at least an hour for a (long) walk along the other bunkers and things that are put here. Note that public transport is very limited but you will get away one way or another. We have not really seen a restaurant-eatery-hotel where you can eat a bite, but most probably there is one in Darkoviche and otherwise in "Hlucin" which is a larger city.



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