The natural environment of Příbram

The town and its immediate surroundings belong to the moderately warm climate zone – B.

The villages of Lazec, Kozičín and Orlov, which are incorporated into the town, and the lower-lying areas of the Brdy Mountains in the wider vicinity of the town, within the Třebská and Pičínská Uplands, fall within climatic sub-region B8 – a moderately warm, humid upland climate with an average annual rainfall of around 700 mm and an average annual temperature of around 6.5 °C. In the climatic classification of the country’s territory according to Quitt, this part of the area under consideration falls within the moderately warm region, district MT5.

The Brdy Hills fall within the cold climate region – C, specifically the C1 sub-region – a cold, humid upland area with an average annual rainfall of around 950 mm and an average annual temperature of around 5.5 °C. In Quitt’s climatic classification of the country, this part of the study area falls within the cold region, specifically district CH7.

The most common air currents come from the south-west to the north-west. However, due to the fragmentation of these air currents by the Brdy ridge and the complex topography of the area, the basic air currents transform into local turbulence, the direction of which depends on the terrain.

In the valleys of the Příbramský potok and the Litavka, the local topography gives rise to poorly ventilated climatic inversion basins, with frequent occurrences of fog during the colder months of the year.

 

Basic climate data for the Příbram weather station:

- the average annual temperature is 7.3 °C,

- the period with average temperatures above 10 °C lasts 149 days,

- the winter season (with average temperatures below 0 °C) lasts 83 days,

- the average annual rainfall is 623 mm,

- the average number of days with precipitation is 15.1 days, of which 10.0 days fall within the growing season,

- the number of days with fog is 46,

- the number of days with snowfall is 44,

- the number of days with snow cover is 58,

- the average relative humidity is 79 per cent,

- the average annual duration of sunshine is 1,546 hours,

- the average annual solar radiation is 3,792 MJ/m²,

- Lang’s rainfall factor is 85.

 

Average monthly precipitation (in mm) and temperatures (in ^°C) for the Příbram station

 

 The town of Příbram lies on the edge of the highest part of the massive, over 60 km long fold of the Brdy Mountains and the Central Bohemian hills, which are 350–400 m lower and more or less of uniform elevation. The pronounced orientation of the fold along a south-west–north-east axis, determined by geological and geomorphological factors, also defines a second axis that spatially delimits the Příbram area: the course of the River Vltava. It is precisely here that the river comes into contact with the geological axis of the Variscan fold belt and, over a distance of several tens of kilometres, follows its basic direction. In this way, the axis of the Variscan fold belt also determines the nature and direction of the economic and cultural organisation of the entire south-western part of the Central Bohemian region. In the context of Bohemia, both the Brdy Hills and the course of the River Vltava form a significant topographical barrier and limit the possibilities for transit links. The main historical link between central and southern Bohemia therefore runs at a distance along the right bank of the River Vltava. This relative inaccessibility of the territory meant that, at the time of its settlement, the location and interrelationships of settlements were primarily determined by the geomorphology of the terrain and the fertility of the soil. A relatively dense network of small settlements developed here, linked to suitable valley enclaves and naturally gravitating towards settlements at the convergence points of the valley network. This distinctly regional organisation of the territory has been preserved despite later organisational axes within the region. One of these is the originally weak link between Prague and the settlements in the western part of South Bohemia. However, its significance was primarily regional for the settlements on the eastern side of the Brdy Mountains. At the time of the establishment of new, efficient roads in the 18th century, Příbram was left with only this regionally important transit function, whilst the central-southern transit link moved away from it. The new, energy-efficient route of this link is situated just far enough from the Vltava River to avoid having to cross the transverse, erosive valleys of its tributaries. For the same reasons, however, it does not venture into the higher elevations of the hilly terrain either. Příbram thus never became a transit town in the true sense of the word, and its development relied primarily on its own local resources. Its position within the region is also strategically situated not in relation to the country’s central-southern corridor, but in relation to the Litavka valley, whose corridor, approximately halfway along the range, connects the western and eastern parts of the Brdy foothills transversely. For the eastern foothills, Příbram thus became an important regional centre with a distinctly centripetal orientation towards both the immediate and more distant surroundings.

 

 

 The town’s territory itself is drained by the Příbramský stream, the Litavka and the watercourses within their catchment areas into the Berounka. Only the north-eastern part of the town’s territory is drained into the Vltava via the Kocába stream. From a broader perspective, the Brdy region and the western part of the Příbram Uplands fall within the Berounka river basin. The eastern part of the Příbram Uplands and the Central Bohemian Uplands fall directly within the Vltava river basin.

The Kocába rises in a small forest pond behind Nová Hospoda on the outskirts of the town and flows north-east along the southern side of Dubno towards Višňová and Daleké Dušníky. It flows into the Vltava at Štěchovice. From Nová Hospoda to Dubno, the Kocába flows through meadowland at the bottom of a shallow valley, which is an area of great natural and landscape value. The Kocába is a water supply watercourse. The total length of its course is 47.2 km. Within the area under consideration, the Kocába catchment has its own hydrological order number: 1 – 08 – 05 – 084. Upstream, it is a sub-catchment of the Vltava and the Elbe.

The Litavka catchment is a sub-catchment of the Berounka. With the exception of the Příbramský potok catchment, virtually its entire area lies within a significant water management area – the Brdy Protected Area of Natural Water Accumulation (CHOPAV BRDY). In the headwaters of the Litavka and a number of its left-bank tributaries, water supply reservoirs have been constructed, with designated sanitary protection zones for water sources. The total length of the Litavka is approximately 54 km. It leaves the Příbram district at the 21st river kilometre. The area of the Příbram section of the Litavka catchment basin is 200.13 km². Over a stretch of 30 km, the river has a drop of more than 300 m (the highest-lying spring is at 760 m above sea level – 642.5 m above sea level; the spillway at Láz – 326 m above sea level; the Litavka riverbed at Rejkovice on the district boundary). All its tributaries, with the exception of the Příbramský stream, have an even greater gradient with high-altitude headwaters. This circumstance means that the Litavka’s water levels are highly variable, with frequent torrential downpours and even floods. Historically, the greatest flood on record was that of 1849, when over 30 people drowned in their homes during a night-time cloudburst. Within the town’s boundaries – from Vysokopecký Pond to Lhota u Příbrami – the Litavka is designated ČHP 1 – 11 – 04 - 003, and from Lhota u Příbrami to Trhové Dušníky, it has hydrological code 1 - 11 - 04 – 007. The entire course of the river is managed by the Vltava River Basin Authority.

The Litavka rises from the Láz water reservoir (642.5 m above sea level) at approximately the 51st river kilometre. The reservoir is fed by a number of small watercourses which rise in the basin between the hills of Bílá skála (721.4 m above sea level), Hradiště (839.6 m above sea level), Brdce (839.0 m above sea level), Zavírka (719.6 m above sea level) and Žernovák (676.0 m above sea level). It enters the area under consideration behind the dam of Vysokopecký Pond, where it flows through the scenic landscape of the forest park. From the dam to the ford and the bridge leading to the holiday cottage settlement on the right bank, the river flows through an unregulated channel lined with mature natural riparian vegetation, which in places widens into a floodplain forest. From the bridge to the end of the park, the Litavka flows through a naturally regulated channel. From the sports stadium to the road bridge at Lazec and on to the allotment gardens below the Březové Mountains, the Litavka flows through a concrete trapezoidal channel with several low weirs. Along the allotment gardens as far as the footbridge to Drmlovo Pole, the Litavka flows through a channel with an old regulation system. From the footbridge to Drmlovo Pole as far as Lhota, the course of the Litavka forms the boundary of the town’s territory. From the footbridge to the bridge to Drmlovo Pole, the Litavka flows through natural meadow vegetation. From the bridge to Drmlovo Pole to the bridge to Podlesí, the Litavka flows through a minimally modified, stabilised channel with mature, dense riparian vegetation of alders and willows. In the next section, up to the old brick bridge, the river’s course has been straightened and the channel modified into a deep trapezoidal profile with stone-reinforced banks. Between Staré and Nové Podlesí, the Litavka flows through a new channel, which was shifted to the left-hand side of the valley floodplain as a result of part of the valley being filled in by spoil heaps from ore mines. From the old bridge to the factory and on to its confluence with the Obecnický stream, the Litavka flows through a valley that is ditch-like in places. Its channel is not regulated here, though in places it is confined on the left bank by a stone or concrete retaining wall belonging to the factory.

Just before the end of the park, the Vokačovský Stream flows into the Litavka from the right; it rises as the outlet of a drainage channel in the fields south-east of Tisová. It enters the area under consideration behind the embankment of Vokačovský Pond, where it flows through a straightened channel with a trapezoidal profile. After approximately 1,000 metres, it passes under the Březové Hory–Bohutín road via a culvert and, after a further 500 metres, flows through an unregulated channel lined with alder vegetation in the floodplain shared with the Litavka, into which it flows in front of the football stadium. The stream is managed by the State Land Improvement Authority.

The catchment area of the Příbramský stream covers an area of 33.095 ^km², and has the separate hydrological order number 1-11-04-008. Upstream, it is a sub-basin of the Litavka, Berounka, Vltava and Elbe rivers. The total length of the Příbramský potok is 11.06 km. The average discharge at its confluence with the Litavka is 0.12 m³s^⁻¹. The flow of the Příbramský stream is supplemented by pumped and treated mine water at a rate of 0.01 ^m³s⁻¹. High-water flows reach the following values: annual 4 m³/s, biennial 9 m³/s, five-year 17 m³/s, ten-year 24 m³/s,twenty-year return period 31 m³/s, fifty-year return period 38 m³/s and hundred-year return period 51 m³/s. The catchment area of the upper reaches of the Příbramský stream comprises 1,097.2 ha of arable land. Of this, 530 ha is drained. From the confluence with the Litavka to Nový rybník, the course of the Příbramský potok is managed by Povodí Vltavy Praha. Above Nový rybník, the course of the stream is managed by the State Land Improvement Authority. From Fialov Pond to the confluence with the Litavka, a _Q100 flood zone has been designated in the floodplain of the Příbramský Stream.

A mining channel ran across the hilly terrain and ridges of the Litavka’s right bank, which, from Láz to Březové hory, distributed water to the mine workings. The flumes were decommissioned in the 1950s and physically demolished on agricultural land. However, the route has been preserved to this day in the woodland and built-up areas. There are currently plans to restore the channels as a significant engineering feat of the past. The project is also important from a water management perspective, as water from the Litavka could be diverted into the Příbramský stream from the end of the channel in Zdaboor. During dry periods, its minimum ecological flow is maintained solely by pumping mine water; however, this will cease in a few years’ time, and water channelled through the old mine flume is likely the only option for replacing the current constant flow of mine water into the Příbramský stream.

The Příbramský stream rises at an altitude of 563 m in the valley south of Levín Hill (612.2 m above sea level), south-east of Příbram, and flows into the Litavka at its 37.69th river kilometre near Trhové Dušníky at an altitude of 451 m. The average gradient is 10.1 ‰_. In Konětopy, the Příbramský stream flows through the village pond. Beyond the Milín–Příbram road, it flows through a new channel, as the old one was blocked by the mine’s spoil heap. Near Lešetice, the Lešetický Stream, which is 1.7 km long and rises in the valley south of Mýto Hill (598.9 m above sea level), joins it from the left. North of the same hill, the Vojna Stream rises; it is 1.4 km long and flows into the re-routed channel of the Příbramský Stream on the left-hand side, just before the mine’s spoil heap. Before Brod, the stream returns to its original course and, at the 6.09 km mark, the Jerusalemský stream flows into it from the right. The latter is 2.1 km long and rises in a valley meadow north-west of Liščí boudy hill (594 m above sea level) by the Milín–Dubenec road. In the village of Jesenice, the Jerusalemský stream flows through a small pond, and beyond the village the Jesenický stream joins it from the left; this stream is 1.4 ha long and rises to the south of Ryšavý hill (596 m above sea level). In Jerusalem, the Jerusalemský stream flows through the village pond, and just before Brod, the Konětopský stream joins it from the left; the Konětopský stream rises in a valley north of Levín hill (612 m above sea level). The Příbramský stream enters the built-up area of the town from the south at Ornov’s Mill, beyond which it flows through Fialový Pond. From the overflow of Fialový Pond, the stream flows through a natural, occasionally meandering channel with dense vegetation along its banks to the edge of Nový Pond, where a millrace branches off, through which the Příbramský Stream feeds Nový Pond via a bypass. The stream flows round the pond on the right-hand side in a straightened, regulated channel along the western edge of the lido complex. From the lido complex to the road near Flusárna and on to the footbridge beneath Čekalíkovský Pond, the Příbramský Stream flows through a modified channel. Running parallel to the course of the Příbramský stream here is a drainage ditch from Flusárna, which also serves as the headrace for Čekalíkovský Pond. The Sázkový Stream (also known as the K Sázkám Stream) flows into this ditch; it discharges via an overflow from the ditch on the right into the Příbramský Stream at the 4.05 km mark of its course. The Sázkový Stream, which is 3.7 km long, rises from a small spring-fed pond on the south-western edge of the village of Háje, east of Holanec Hill (591 m above sea level). In the part of the town known as Hájek, the Sázkový Stream flows through the Sázky pond and, near Flusárna, through the Kaňka pond. From the footbridge at Čekalíkovský Pond to the bridge opposite Osvobození Street, the Příbramský Stream flows through a regulated channel with bank walls. From the bridge opposite Osvobození Street to the bridge on Prokopská Street, the Příbramský Stream flows through a regulated trapezoidal channel, lined on both sides by rows of trees, predominantly European ash. Before the bridge, a channel from the municipal sewerage system’s stormwater separator discharges into the stream. Immediately after the bridge, the Příbramský stream flows into Hořejší Obora Pond. The outlet section of this pond is dammed by a concrete weir with an adjustable spillway and serves to trap coarse debris from the sewerage separator. From the pond’s spillway, the Příbramský stream flows towards the Dolejší Obora pond. From Dolejší Obora Pond to the culvert beneath the north-western bypass on the northern edge of the town, the Příbramský stream flows through a deeply incised, modified channel with dense riparian vegetation, which serve as an unauthorised tip for ash and other components of municipal waste. Before the Masokombinát, at 1.21 km of the stream’s course, the Svatý Stream flows into it from the right; this stream is 1.4 km long and rises on a hillside between Šibeniční Hill (562 m above sea level) and Květná Hill (543 m above sea level).

In the vicinity of the village of Trhové Dušníky, the Příbramský stream was diverted from its original course in the valley in the distant past and channelled along the embankment of the retention basin to the western edge of the village into the Litavka, so that there would be more water for the mill race and the brewery ponds, as in its original channel it did not flow into the Litavka until below Trhové Dušníky. However, the old retention basin was filled with overburden and construction rubble during the construction boom of the 1950s. This, combined with the size of the stream’s catchment area and the increase in paved surfaces in Příbram, has led to the current situation, where every heavy rainfall results in an uncontrollable surge of water, causing frequent flooding in the lower-lying residential areas of Trhové Dušníky. For this reason, the study “Revitalisation of the Litaka River System” proposes the creation of a new dry or semi-dry retention basin, to be situated just outside the town boundary in the area between the sewage treatment works and the road to Hluboš.

A second necessary measure is to slow down the runoff of rainwater from the town’s area. As a provision of the local plan, the aim is to prevent any increase in the area of completely impermeable paved surfaces and to convert existing impermeable paved surfaces into partially permeable or easily permeable surfaces.

The headwaters of the Příbramský stream are located in a heavily mined area, where a significant proportion of rainfall seeps through fissures into mine waters, most of which are channelled via a system of mine galleries into the neighbouring Kocába catchment area. This water loss is partially offset by the pumping of mine water near Brod, which supplies 0.01 m³^/s of water to the Příbramský stream. Given the decline of the uranium industry and the cessation of mining, this replenishment via pumped and treated mine water is likely to cease very soon. However, the minimum flows of the Příbramský stream during prolonged periods of drought and heat in the summer months are already at the limit of what is considered hygienically acceptable.

Presumably, the only way to replace the current steady inflow of mine water into the Příbramský stream is to restore the old mine channels which, from Láz to Březové hory, distributed water to the mine workings on the right bank of the Litavka. The channels were decommissioned in the 1950s and physically destroyed on agricultural land. However, their route has been preserved to this day in the woodland and built-up areas. The higher-lying mine channel carried water from Láz as far as Zdaboř. From there, should the channel be restored, the water could be channelled along the northern slope of Ševčiny Hill to the other side of the watershed into the shallow valley of the Příbramský Stream. The local development plan therefore proposes the restoration of the channels and outlines a new route for channelling the water into the Příbramský Stream. The proposed water management project is designated as a public benefit scheme.

 

 

 

In terms of the geomorphological division of the Czech Republic, the Příbram region belongs to the Bohemian Highlands province. Running along the eastern edge of Příbram, on a south-west to north-east axis, is the boundary between the two sub-provinces of the Bohemian Highlands – the Poberoun System to the west and the Bohemian-Moravian System to the east.

The boundary line between these two systems is of decisive importance for the character of the landscape, the vegetation cover, the structure of settlement and the direction of historical routes.

The north-western half of the Příbram region belongs to the Poberounská Range subprovince, the Brdská Subrange area, the Brdy Highlands region, the Brdy sub-region, the Třemošenská Highlands district and the Příbram Uplands sub-region, as well as the Třebská Uplands and Pičínská Uplands districts.

The south-eastern half of the Příbram region belongs to the Bohemian-Moravian System subprovince, the Central Bohemian Uplands region, the Benešov Uplands, the Březnice Uplands sub-unit, the Milín Highlands district and the Sedlčany Uplands sub-unit, and the Nečín Highlands district.

The basic geomorphological structure of the area in question is the result of Hercynian and earlier folding. However, the present-day relief of the area was fundamentally shaped by Quaternary denudation. Within the town and its western surroundings, this was mainly due to the erosive activity of the Litavka and the Příbramský stream. In the eastern part of the Příbram region, it was the erosive denudation by the tributaries of the deeply incised Vltava river.

The Brdy Uplands consist of Palaeozoic strata of shale, sandstone, conglomerate and quartzite of Cambrian age. In most of the town’s territory, these comprise the Příbram Formation. The western and north-western edges of the urban area in the Březové Hory region extend into the Blovice–Teplá series of sediments containing spilites, which runs here along the line Láz – Březové Hory – Trhové Dušníky – Pičín.

To the south-east of the town, at the boundary between the Brdy Uplands and the Central Bohemian Hills, the Cambrian sediments are succeeded by a zone of Palaeozoic Late Variscan magmatites, represented here by granodiorites of the marginal facies.

In the Milín and Nečín Highlands, the Benešov Uplands are geologically composed of granitoids of the Czech Peripheral Pluton, of the Blatná and Nečín types, with bodies of gabbro and gabrodiorite, and Proterozoic metabasites of the Jílové Belt.

The boundary between Cambrian sediments and Palaeozoic Late Variscan magmatites is accompanied by two mineralisation belts whose axes coincide with the direction of the faults of the Saxon orogeny, i.e. in a south-west–north-east direction. The first mineralised zone, running along the line Láz, Bohutín, Březové Hory, Trhové Dušníky, contains predominantly polymetallic ores with a predominance of metallic ores, particularly copper and silver. In the second mineralised zone, running through Kamenná, Lešetice, Brod, Bytíz, Dubenec, Skalka, Ostrov and Daleké Dušníky, uranium mineralisation predominates.

Mineral deposits and areas undermined following their extraction are associated with these mineralisation zones.

The western part of the area under consideration lies within the CHLÚ (Protected Area for the Conservation of Natural Resources) for polymetallic ores and the now-defunct Březové Hory – Vysoká Pec mining area of the Příbram Ore Mines, covering a total area of 807.2 ha. In the Geofond Praha records, this deposit is listed in the Register of Mineral Deposits under identification number N5 147200 and is shown on the map of mineral deposits under serial numbers 13, 20 and 21 on sheet 2212 Březnice, and under serial numbers 2 and 7 on sheet 2221 Příbram.

The south-eastern part of the area under consideration lies within the Protected Area for Uranium Ore Deposits and the Daleké Dušníky, Bytíz, Brod, Lešetice, Kamenná Diama Příbram mining area, covering a total area of 5,764.3 ha. In the Geofond Praha records, this deposit is listed in the Register of Mineral Deposits under identification number N5 and is shown on sheet 1243 Dobříš, under serial numbers 26 and 27 on sheet 2212 Březnice, and under serial numbers 24 and 26 on sheet 2221 Příbram.

The southern part of the area under consideration lies within the zone of projected reserves of polymetallic ores at Příbram, Narysov and Žežice. In the Geofond Praha records, this area is listed in the Register of Mineral Deposits under identification number P9 070300 and is recorded on sheet 2212 Band is recorded under serial number 5 on sheet 2221 Příbram.

The area of projected reserves of polymetallic ores at Zavírka and Obecnice extends to the western edge of the area under consideration, in the vicinity of Orlovo and Kozičín. In the Geofond Praha records, this area is listed in the Register of Mineral Deposits under identification number P9 070400 and is recorded on sheet 2212 B. The estimated reserves of the Obecnice-Zavírka deposit are 1,000 kt in the P-3 category. The deposit is administered by the Ministry of the Environment.

 

 Both past and recent mining of ore deposits has resulted in a number of areas affected by underground mining in the area under consideration (see Annexes 7 and 8). The following area affected by underground mining is recorded in the Geofond Praha register:

· Bohutín – Březové Hory, with identification number 2212018, which is listed under serial number 18 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Undercut Areas. It encompasses an area of historical polymetallic ore mining as well as mining carried out after 1945. It covers an area of 807.1 ha on the surface. The location is precise (within this area, several zones with non-zero subsidence have been delineated, which are shown on the relevant diagram).

· Kozičín, which is listed under serial number 17 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Mined Areas. It covers an area of historical polymetallic ore mining dating back to the 19th century. It covers an area of 3.9 ha on the surface;

· Zdaboř, which is listed under serial number 19 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Mined Areas. It encompasses an area of historical polymetallic ore mining as well as mining carried out after 1945. It covers an area of 38.1 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Příbram, with identification number 2212020, which is listed under serial number 20 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Mined Areas. It covers an area of historical polymetallic ore mining up to the end of the 19th century. It covers an area of 9.1 ha on the surface. The location is precise;

· Žežice, which is recorded under serial number 21 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Mined Areas. It covers an area where polymetallic ores were historically mined until the 19th century. It covers an area of 20.4 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Narysov – Na Výfuku, which is listed under serial number 22 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Mined Areas. It comprises an area where polymetallic ores were historically mined until the 19th century. The exact area is unknown. The location is precise;

· Zavřice – Vojna, with identification number 2212023, which is listed under serial number 23 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Mined Areas. It covers the area of historical polymetallic ore mining up to the end of the 19th century. It covers an area of 95.0 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Kamenná – Bytíz – Daleké Dušníky, with identification number 2212036, which is recorded under serial number 36 on sheet 2212 Březnice of the Map of Mined Areas. It encompasses the area of uranium ore mining after 1945. It covers an area of 5,764.3 ha on the surface. The location is precise. It is a system characterised by surface features such as subsidence and spoil heaps;

· Dubno – Příbram, which is recorded under serial number 1 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Mined Areas. It encompasses the area of historical polymetallic ore mining up to the 19th century. It covers an area of 5.3 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Příbram – Mathias, which is listed under serial number 2 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Undercut Areas. It comprises an area of historical polymetallic ore mining dating back to the 19th century. It covers an area of 10.7 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Příbram, which is listed under serial number 3 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Mined Areas. It comprises an area of historical polymetallic ore mining of unknown age. It covers an area of 4.7 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Příbram – Dubno, which is listed under serial number 4 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Mined Areas. It encompasses an area of historical polymetallic ore mining dating back to the 19th century. It covers an area of 3.9 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Příbram – Hájek, which is listed under serial number 5 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Mined Areas. It encompasses an area where polymetallic ores were historically mined until the 19th century. It covers an area of 10.0 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Příbram – Hatě, which is listed under serial number 6 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Mined Areas. It covers an area where polymetallic ores were historically mined until the 19th century. It covers an area of 17.3 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Příbram – Svatá Hora, which is listed under serial number 7 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Mined Areas. It covers an area where polymetallic ores were historically mined until the 19th century. It covers an area of 11.5 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

· Brod, which is listed under serial number 11 on sheet 2221 (Příbram) of the Map of Mined Areas. It comprises an area where polymetallic ores were historically mined until the 19th century. It covers an area of 39.8 ha at the surface. The location is precise;

In terms of radon risk, the town itself lies within a medium radon risk zone, with a mass activity of radon ^Ra226 of 25–60 Bq/kg. The north-western part of the area under consideration lies in a low-risk zone with a mass activity of ^radon-226 up to 25 Bq/kg, whilst the south-eastern part lies in a high-risk zone with a mass activity of radon^-226 ranging from 60 – 125 Bq/kg. The mining of uranium and polymetallic ore deposits and the creation of spoil heaps have resulted in localised areas with a radon^-226 mass activity exceeding 125 Bq/kg and, consequently, areas of high radon risk.

 

 

 

In the valleys of the Příbramský stream and the Litavka river, there are clay-sandy alluvial soils with varying degrees of waterlogging and gleying or peat formation. Genetically, they have developed on alluvial deposits of varying depths. On the valley slopes and upland plateaus, there are sandy loam brown soils, which are waterlogged and gleyed in places. Genetically, these are acidic brown soils on Cambrian sediments, particularly shales, siltstones and conglomerates; on slopes, they also occur on slope clays. In the forests, mostly shallow brown soils and humus podzols have formed on the aforementioned sedimentary rocks. At higher altitudes, pseudogley, gley, gley podzols and, in places, peatlands are found. In the Central Bohemian Uplands, the soils are predominantly brown soils and rendzinas, including their gleyed and illimerised forms, on the granite and gneiss of the Central Bohemian Pluton.

The soils of the north-western quadrant of the town, including the immediate surroundings as far as Obecnice and Bratkovice, are heavily contaminated with heavy metals from the former operations of the Příbram Metallurgical Works, which, until 1983, had no flue gas treatment facilities. Soil contamination significantly exceeds the recommended limits for lead and cadmium in agricultural soils. The limits for cadmium are set at 0.4 mg per 1 kg of soil dry matter and for lead at 70 mg per 1 kg of soil dry matter. Soils in the contaminated area contain 0.4–15.0 mg of cadmium and 400–5,000 mg of lead per 1 kg of soil dry matter.

This circumstance must be taken into account in future landscape planning and the economic

use of the area in question. For agricultural land north of Příbram, and in the areas of Podlesí, Lhota, Oseč, Obecnice, Trhové Dušníky, Drahlín and Sádek, alternative uses other than food production must be considered, whilst ensuring that the foreign substances contained in the soil are not washed into the Litavka and the reservoirs downstream to any significant extent. In the Litavka floodplain itself, between Trhové Dušníky and Bratkovice, the most suitable method of land use and stabilisation of the contaminated environment is the permanent and comprehensive grassing of the floodplain and the protection of the area as a natural monument featuring a freely meandering river.

 

 

 

The town and its lower-lying surroundings belong to the phytogeographical region of the Mesophyticum - M. (Mesophyticum), the Bohemian-Moravian Mesophytic phytogeographical district – Bohemian-Moravian M. (Mesophyticum Massivi bohemici), and the Bohemian-Moravian M. 5. Podbrdsko, and to the sub-district of Bohemian-Moravian M. 5. c. Příbramské Podbrdsko.

The higher-altitude parts of the Brdy Mountains belong to the Oreophytic phytogeographical region – O. (Oreophyticum), to the Bohemian Oreophytic phytogeographical district – Bohemian O. (Oreophyticum Massivi bohemici), and to the sub-district Bohemian O. 87. Brdy.

The eastern part of the Příbram region belongs to the phytogeographical region Mesophyticum – M (Mesophyticum), to the phytogeographical district Bohemian-Moravian Mesophyticum – Českomor. M (Mesophyticum Massivi bohemici), and sub-region 41. Central Vltava Valley.

According to the latest biogeographical regionalisation (Dr M. Culek, 1994), the Příbram area lies within the Bohemian Province, in the 1st Hercynian Subprovince, in bioregion 1.44 Brdský and in bioregion 1.20 Slapský.

According to the older biogeographical division of the country’s territory into socio-ecoregions, the Příbram region falls within socio-ecoregion III.9 Brdská vrchovina and socio-ecoregion II.19 Středočeská pahorkatina.

 

 

 

 

Within the town and its immediate surroundings, the reconstructed natural communities consist of alder groves, acidophilous oak woodlands and beech-hornbeam forests. Across most of the town’s territory, as well as in the hilly terrain of its immediate surroundings, the reconstructed natural community is that of beech-oak forests – the Luzulo-Fagion association. In the valleys of the Litavka and the Příbramský stream and their tributaries, the natural community is that of alder groves – the Alno-Padion alliance. On the valley slopes around the Litavka and the southern slopes of the Brdy Hills, the natural community is that of acidophilous oak-beech forests – the Quercion robori-petraeae alliance. This community is also the dominant community of the Milín and Nečín Uplands. In the lower parts of the Pičín Hills, the main natural community consists of oak-hornbeam groves – the Carpinion betuli association. At higher altitudes in the Brdy Mountains, the natural community is that of flower-rich beech forests – the Eu-Fagion association. At the highest altitudes, the community consists of high-altitude acidophilous beech forests – the Luzulo-Fagetum montanum association. In the wider vicinity, there are also some less common but well-preserved communities. In the area of the Padrťské ponds, this includes the community of waterlogged spruce forests – the Bazzanio-Piceetum alliance. On the extremely dry rocky outcrops of the Milínská Highlands, the community consists of subxerophilic oak-beech forests – the Potentillo-Quercetum alliance. On the rocky outcrops of the Vltava Valley, the community consists of hawthorn-oak forests – the Eu-Quercion pubescentis alliance – whilst at several rocky sites in the Kamýk area, there is a rare community of acidophilous relict pine forests – the Erico-Pinion alliance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are no specially protected nature areas within the town’s boundaries. Similarly, in the wider surroundings of the town – from the Brdy Hills to the River Vltava – there are no protected nature areas, despite the presence of many sites of great natural value. Perhaps it is precisely their abundance that has so far prevented greater pressure being exerted for their protection. The current complete absence of small-scale protected areas around Příbram is striking even when viewed against the map of their – otherwise generally regular – network across the rest of the country.

Historically, therefore, the greatest attention has been focused primarily on the Brdy Mountains, whose natural environment appeared to be threatened by the establishment of a military training area in the 1920s. This mainly involved the clearing of 1,280 hectares of woodland to build military firing ranges. The fears at the time regarding the total collapse of forest communities proved unfounded, and alternative yet valuable communities of rocky mountain slopes developed on the deforested areas. However, interest in the Brdy Mountains has not waned since then. In 1933, the Kuchyňka and Míšovské buky nature reserves were designated. In 1955, the Fajmanovy skály – Klenky, Chyninské buky, Kokšín and Planinské buky reserves were designated. All were small in area (1 to 9 ha), all comprised beech stands, and all were situated in two neighbouring cadastral districts of the then Blovice district in the south-western spur of the Brdy Mountains – the Třemošenská Highlands. Further protected areas were gradually designated here as well. In 1964, the Hřebenec Special Area of Conservation (SAC); in 1966, the Třemešný vrch Special Area of Conservation (SAC), the Getsemanka I and II nature reserves, and the Na skalách nature reserve. In 1991, all the nature reserves established in 1955 – with the exception of the Planinské vrchy – were extended (by a factor of 4 to 10) following a reclassification. Outside the area under consideration, in the Hřebeny range, the Kuchyňka Special Protection Area (SPR) was extended by a re-designation in 1989 and the Hradec Special Protection Area (SPR) was designated.

All the reserves are situated in the southern and northern parts of the district, not in the part of the Brdy Mountains close to Příbram. Attention has only recently been focused on this area. This is where the majority of the 24 proposals for the designation of small-scale protected areas are located, and scientific research here has not yet been completed.

Large-scale territorial protection remains an open question. The Brdy have been officially proposed as a protected landscape area. If we take as our basis the statutory definition of a protected landscape area as ‘an extensive area with a harmoniously formed landscape, characteristic relief, and a significant proportion of natural ecosystems comprising forests and permanent grassland’, the Brdy Mountains are ideally suited for protection under this category. However, this is primarily prevented by the fact that a substantial part of the Brdy Mountains lies within a prospective military training area, the current ‘management’ of which, on the other hand, ensures the preservation of a high-quality landscape character. Furthermore, the current regulations governing the military training area permit the designation of a group of Special Areas of Conservation.

 

 

The Brdy massif itself has a mountainous character. In some of the summit areas, such as on Mount Tok, it even has an alpine character.

The foothills of the Brdy have a much more varied landscape character. On the eastern side of the Brdy, the landscape around the Litavka River exhibits many different features. In the headwaters near Láz, it is a mountainous landscape with a massif of forests and large deforested areas of broad, gently sloping hillsides, which between Láz and Bohutín gives way to a wide-open, almost floodplain-like landscape. Beyond Bohutín, the Litavka valley gradually narrows and cuts deeper into the terrain, until, near Příbram, its entire valley floor is filled by the river channel and its riparian zone. Here, the landscape takes on the character of high hills, perceived as the foothills of the nearby central Brdy massif. Beyond Příbram, at Lhota, the Litavka enters the scenically significant transverse valley of the Obecnický stream, which begins below the highest peak of the Brdy – Tok, and ends as a depression in the featureless, flat hilly terrain of the north-eastern part of the Příbram Hills. From the southern side of the Obecnický Stream valley, there is a unique view of the northern part of the Brdy Ridge and the Brdy Uplands. The landscape here has a distinct submontane character. From the north-eastern hilltop above the Obecnický Stream valley and from the Litavka valley stretching from Trhové Dušníky to Bratkovice, there is a unique view of Příbram, dominated by Svatá Hora. Near Trhové Dušníky, the Litavka enters a wide valley with the distant horizon of the Brdy Hills, which here takes on the character of a submontane floodplain landscape. Before reaching Bratkovice, the valley narrows and takes on the typical character of a submontane valley with a meandering stream in a flat valley floor. Here, however, there is the peculiarity that the river does not flow down from the mountains but, on the contrary, cuts very abruptly into the mountain massif. In the Dominikální Paseky area, the landscape takes on a high-mountain character, accentuated by the scattered nature of the village’s buildings. From there to Čenkov, the Litavka flows through a narrow mountain valley flanked by wooded slopes.

The eastern outskirts of Příbram consist of rugged uplands with more or less forested hills and deforested areas comprising plains, valleys and the lower slopes of the high hills. An exception to this mosaic is a vast forest complex stretching from Vrch Háje on the eastern edge of Příbram, through Bytíz, Staré hory, Velká skála, Velká leč, Chlum, Bohatá hora and Velká hora, all the way to Hůrka above the Vltava valley. All the watercourses in this area gradually cut their way into deep, narrow valleys through which they flow into the Vltava. The steep gradient of most of these watercourses, resulting from this topography, was extensively utilised in the past to create a vast network of fish ponds, the majority of which remain preserved to this day.

All this contributes to the high aesthetic and recreational value of the landscape in the eastern outskirts of Příbram, which, in the immediate vicinity of the town, is currently seriously disrupted only by the as yet unreclaimed tailings heaps from the uranium mines.

The mountainous to high-mountain character of the Brdy, the unique landscape of the Litava Valley and the balanced, naturally preserved cultural landscape of the Central Bohemian Uplands make Příbram the centre of a potentially very significant recreational area.

Of the surrounding countryside, the three large, interconnected landscape segments are of the greatest significance to the town.

The first of these is the Litavský Valley corridor stretching from Bohutín to Bratkovice. This area is characterised by a highly varied landscape, with a high concentration of both natural and culturally shaped natural features and phenomena – ranging from the geological structure of the area, through to the natural vegetation and the freely meandering river, right up to the Litavka Forest Park with its reclaimed spoil tip below Vysokopecký Pond and the rocky birch steppe on the spoil tip near the metalworks. It contains many well-preserved traces of past economic activity – ranging from mining to the unusually efficient and landscape-sensitive utilisation of the water power of the Litavka and its tributaries. Last but not least, it is an area with old settlements featuring a number of architectural monuments and prominent landmarks. The silhouettes of the Bohutín church to the south and the Hluboš church to the north characteristically define this area.

Beyond Březové Hory, the left-bank slopes of the Litavka valley in the Příbram area, facing Staré and Nové Podlesí and the metalworks, are formed by mine spoil heaps of varying ages. Some have already been reclaimed, either spontaneously or through controlled measures, and their vegetation cover has created a new landscape. However, the development of this area is necessarily linked to the functional use and restructuring of the urban built-up areas themselves. In principle, however, the area of the mine spoil heaps should remain a fully-fledged part of this landscape segment. Behind the metalworks, the Litavka valley is marred by two heaps of mining waste, but even the further section of the Litavka valley between Lhota and Trhové Dušníky—which is of great natural and landscape value—is no longer utilised by the town.

The municipalities in the Litavka catchment area have established a walking and cycling trail in this area, which runs from the dam at Láz through the Litavka valley to Rejkovice on the border of the Příbram district. Given its location and the existing recreational use of the Litavka Valley, the town of Příbram is ideally suited to serve as the starting point and centre for tourism and recreational activities in this area. The aforementioned restoration of the old mining channel from Láz to Zdabore would neatly complete the walking route to Láz and reinforce one of the town’s defining characteristics and images as a historic centre of mining.

The second landscape segment is a ring of countryside, characterised by deforested valleys and plains dominated by meadow vegetation, and wooded hills in a belt beginning in the south in the valley of the Příbramský stream near Fialův mlýn and marked by the hills Nad Phodnicí, Jestřabinec, Holanec, Háje, Vršce, Skleněný vrch, Vrchy, Pichce and Květná, beyond which it ends in the Litavka valley. Via Vršce and Skleněný vrch, this landscape segment is connected to a significant watershed feature of the Central Bohemian Uplands on the left bank of the Vltava – a wide, more or less continuously forested belt which, stretching eastwards across rolling hills, reaches as far as the Vltava. The ring itself naturally delineates the town’s immediate surroundings, both visually and geographically. The villages adjacent to Příbram lying beyond this line are, in essence, part of the rural landscape and settlements of the Central Bohemian Uplands, and their development should be subordinate to the character of that landscape. As the ring forms a natural boundary of the suburban landscape—a boundary that cannot be shifted as the town grows—this also establishes one of the fundamental constraints on the use of this area. The intensity and manner of its use must not destroy the character of the suburban landscape, that is to say, the spatial and functional centrality of urban elements and features within the landscape, the loose layout and low density of residential development, the relative isolation of areas of economic activity within the territory, and the preservation of its natural character with a sufficient proportion of contiguous open areas that are neither built-up nor forested.

The third landscape segment is the forested massif of the Třemošany ridge of the Brdy, which forms the north-western visual horizon for Březové Hory. In a narrower sense, the edge of the Třemošany forest complex marks the boundary of an open cultural landscape in the Podlesí and Orlov areas, which is directly linked to Příbram both visually and in terms of its relationship to the town, as well as the boundary of the landscape-wise distinct deforested enclave of Lazce and Kozičín, which is linked to Příbram more closely only in administrative terms. At the time of the emergence and development of tourism at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one, the Třemošná area was the most significant tourist destination in the town’s immediate vicinity, and indeed of supra-local importance. The establishment of a military zone turned it into a peripheral tourist enclave, and after the Second World War, this area was completely closed to tourists.