At the foot of Černá hora, just under seven kilometers south of Kvilda, at an altitude of 1172 m above sea level, lies the symbolic source of the longest Czech river – the Vltava (here the Teplá Vltava). It marks the watershed between the North Sea and the Black Sea.
The spring is arranged in a stone-lined pit and may sometimes be dry during droughts. In reality, the Teplá Vltava is formed by the merging of streams flowing from the slopes of Černá hora and Stráž with water draining from the peat bog.
Above the path once stood a tourist lodge built by the Czech Tourist Club in 1922–23, which was demolished in 1953. During World War II, there was a prisoner labor camp here (a memorial plaque is located at the spring), where prisoners worked in timber harvesting. After the war, this area (like much of Šumava) was closed to the public.
How to get there:
For hikers and cyclists:
From Modrava via the red trail – approx. 9.5 km for hikers, 12.5 km for cyclists
From Kvilda via the blue trail – approx. 7 km
From Bučina via the red trail – 3.6 km
