A new section of the Vltava Cycle Path connects Loučovice and Vyšší Brod.

The newly opened segment starts before the chapel of St. Procopius in Loučovice and ends in Vyšší Brod at the entrance to the Pod Hrází campground. At the beginning of the route, it runs along the left bank of the Vltava River, passing between the river and the built-up part of the village of Loučovice to the bridge. From there, it continues along the right bank of the Vltava towards Čertova stěna. The route then heads towards the Lipno II water reservoir, concluding at the Pod Hrází campground. Not the entire path is on a dedicated lane; it partially utilizes purpose-built roads.

The newly opened section of the Vltava Cycle Path from Loučovice to Vyšší Brod connects to a 1.2 km segment between the train stations Lipno nad Vltavou and Loučovice, completed last year.

Passage through a concrete canal

A noteworthy feature is a roughly 250-meter passage through the interior of a historic reinforced concrete canal built in 1929 for the Spiro power plant. The new path follows the 1.4-kilometer-long route of this canal. Along this route, the original stone-built canal from 1903 is also visible.

Strengthening tourism

The significance of this project for the entire region was emphasized by Martin Kuba, the governor of the South Bohemian Region: „This project is of great importance for the whole region. We must realize that we are now in areas such as Loučovice, Vyšší Brod, and Lipno, where the entire economic structure has changed since the revolution. The people here used to work either in industrial enterprises or in the forests. Currently, tourism is the main source of income for this entire region. It is crucial for the South Bohemian Region to help local people leverage their beautiful nature and use the cycle path to attract tourists from Lipno to other locations, such as Loučovice or Vyšší Brod, so that these towns can improve their economy through tourism, which undoubtedly sustains this region today.“

The value of the realization of the project was acknowledged by the mayor of Loučovice, Jan Kubík: „The cycle path project to Vyšší Brod was in the drawer with a building permit for six years, but unfortunately, we couldn’t afford to invest in it because the high price, and it was beyond the scope of our budget as a municipality. We are very pleased that it was possible to include it in the plan of the Vltava Cycle Path and have it covered by the region.“ The mayor of Vyšší Brod, Jindřich Hanzlíček, additionally pointed out that the new cycle path significantly enhances traffic safety: „The idea of connecting Lipno and Vyšebrodsko came about ten, twelve years ago. The goal was for tourists traveling along this busy road to finally be able to ride safely. We were mainly concerned about children.“

The funding was covered by the region

For the first time, the region financed construction: „This is the first cycle path project where the South Bohemian Region is the recipient. Until now, only municipalities have built them here. If the construction of the Vltava Cycle Path continues with the same success, and of course, with the support of IROP, we will eventually reach the source of the Vltava and its confluence with the Elbe,“ said Petr Bouška, the director of the South Bohemian branch of the Center for Regional Development, which oversees IROP projects. For reference, he added that with the help of European funds, 28 km of paths have been built in the South Bohemian Region in recent years.

The costs for the project were 92.5 million Czech crowns. Almost half, 46 percent, was covered by the European Union, 33 percent by the region, and 21 percent by the SFDI fund. The Loučovice – Vltava Cycle Path to Vyšší Brod segment was built by Skanska, and the section of the path in Loučovice along the river was carried out by Eurovia.

We have added the entire section to the „Městem na kole“ map, so with the next update, you will be able to see it on the map.