Adršpašsko - teplické Skály

History of Adršpach-Teplice rocks

Andšpach and surroundings were for ages known for their mysterious stories full of pixies, robbers and witchcrafts…

Metuje

River Metuje had conjured there for ages and changed the rocks and produced their beauty. Very nice is also the story, how the river was named. The oldest ones even tell the story today.

The river could thank benedictine monks who settled down in this region, for its name. Metuje river was the greatest and most mysterious river in the region. In those times it did not bear any name and nobody knew, where is its spring. So monks, equipped with food for several days went against the river current. Everywhere there was a dense forest, so they proceeded very slowly, but one day they came to a place, where the spring should be located. Finally, it was found. However, they could not found any appropriate name for the river. On their way back the decision was made. When men were relaxing, some other monks went to reckon the terrain when they found a cluster of bees. They lived in a maple and had so much honey that it poured over the trunk. That man, surprised by the foundation cried out „Med tu je! Med tu je! (Honey is there, Honey is there!). The cries echoed through the forest and the name for the river was born. „Med tu je“ was changed to Metuje and it remained so for ever.

Water kingdom

The interesting thing is, that even today people argue where exactly Metuja´s spring is. The most popular version claims that it springs in Wolf´s gill.

Water, especially the underground water makes the real wealth of the Adršpach stone town. For years it flows in the depth of some hundred metres through cubical sandstones of approximate area 100km2. It is one of the best underground waters in the Central Europe. From the underground it flows thanks to the air pressure to the surface, where it forms huge artesian springs. The water supply is so strong, that it supplies not only the whole region, but it is sold as a well-known table water in the whole Czech republic.

Stony towns

Even today people name Teplice and Adršpach stone labyrinths as a stony towns. One old fable says, that in the past there were two real towns on the places of the stony labyrinths. They were of a big strategic importance, because all the region was covered by forests and rocks and only through those towns an enemy could penetrate to the kingdom. And as a fable claims, even our ancestors were able to change their minds for some rewards and they left the enemy to enter the rich country. The enemy robbed and caused a great harm. One god got angry from this behaviour and ordered two towns to petrify. As soon as he told his curse, houses, churches, people and animals changed to the stone.

Memoirs from the press:

Adventures from Adršpach

Wanderer 1846

„Then a guide opened small doors and we continued on the sandy footpath. He showed various rocks and named them: rock of an echo, Capuchin, a glove, a mayor, an ashbin, a scaffold, Vratislaw Magdalena church, a rostrum, a pyramide, a mushroom, a ruin, a halved stone, a dog and many others. All those names are connected with the way the rocks look like. One rock was named by our guide as Emperor Leopold. I asked, which Leopold he thought about, Leopold I or Leopold II, and he replied „Velchen Se vullen.“ (The one you choose). Finally we got to the green meadow and our eyes were charmed, but then we passed through some black cave to the waterfall, where a nice drama awaited us. We stood to the banister and then a water with tremendous noise started to fall from the height – that is the most beautiful waterfall we have ever seen.“

From 1881

„It is not advisable to go to the rocks without a guide… a stranger does not know the path and even the names of the objects thus he does not know what to observe. Soon we get to the sugar loaf, interesting object of Adršpach rocks. It is a great sandstone object, on its upper side two and a half metres wide, on its lower side half meter wide and nine and a half metres high… it looks like it is a great sugar loaf turned upside down. The tip submerges to the mud and a water flows round it. We do not feel fine standing near to it because we expect the stone to collaps in any moment … However, it haven´t happened yet but we do not say that it is safe a that it would not happen in a few years. Narrow support of the stone still submerges to the mud and is surrounded by water… and sandstone is not so tough… it is sure that once the stone will collapse.“