Podmokly
Podmokly is a picturesque village in the Šumava foothills, 4 km as the crow flies to the east of Sušice, in the valley of the Podmokelské stream.
Podmokly belongs to the Podlesí region, from where, since time immemorial, residents have left for work all over the world as craftsmen, musicians, circus performers... Since 2003, the village has had its coat of arms and banner, the motif of which describes the history and location of the village. The blue color represents water, the silver islands point to the Celtic settlement and the silver lyre is a reference to the musical tradition associated with the stay of prof. Václav Kopta.
The most historically interesting part of Podmokel is a complex of terraced Jewish houses with an adjoining synagogue (no. 55), which can be found on the northern edge of the village by the road to Sušice. The late Baroque synagogue building (the core of the building dates back to the 1880s) was later expanded, its current form dates from the end of the 19th century. The beginning of Jewish settlement, however, dates back to the deeper past, the first Jews settled in Podmokle from the middle of the 17th century. Their presence was a significant economic benefit for the noble owners of the local farmstead. The prosperous and numerous Jewish community, which in its heyday numbered almost 100 people, began to disappear in the second half of the 19th century following the general trend of the departure of rural residents to the cities, the definitive end to liturgical life in the Podmokel synagogue was then put in 1872 a fire that killed almost half of the village. The synagogue building was then sold by the Jewish community and used for housing until the present day. In 2015, the building was declared a cultural monument (reg. no. 105747) and reconstruction is underway here, returning the building to its original purpose.
The building of the former synagogue with the adjacent ramshackle part of the village, inhabited by a large Jewish community until the end of the 19th century, is located on the northern edge of the village by the road in the direction of Sušice.
In the village there is a baroque chapel from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, a monument to those who died in World War I, and the now almost unrecognizable rebuilt building of the chateau and former log farm, where music professor Václav Kopta, who made Czech music and poetry famous, lived for 16 years far beyond the sea. In August 1891, Antonín Dvořák visited the Koptovs in Podmokle before his trip to America.
A little away from Podmokel, on the slopes of Kalov, there is one of the most romantic Jewish cemeteries in Pošumaví with a beautiful view of Žihobce and Javorník with Žďánov. You can reach the cemetery on foot from the agricultural building vertically up through the pasture, or by bike along the contour path along the slopes of Kalov from Velká Chmelná or from Roku.
In Podmokle, in addition to the Jewish cemetery on the hillside above the village, there is also a Christian cemetery. It was established by the decision of the church authorities in 1680 as the final resting place of victims of the plague epidemic and is located on the way from the village near Kotálovské Dvory. It is marked by a small, brick chapel with a simple metal cross.
The sundial in the village in front of the chapel is also interesting.
It is possible to reach Podmokly by car or bus from Sušice along road II. class no. 171, or by bike, when it is possible to turn from cycle path no. 12 Otavská in Velká Chmelná towards Podmokly. You can park in the village.
Unfortunately, there is no possibility of catering or refreshments in the village.
Accommodations:
Tourist hostel, no. 66, reservation through the municipal office
Podmokly Municipal Office, Podmokly 38, 342 01 Sušice
phone +420 376 526 498, mobile +420 774 110 737,
email: info@podmokly.cz, www.podmokly.cz
