the sad story of the Island's strange resurrection

Despite petitions and protests (for details search label 'protest'), the Town council last year gave a go-ahead to brutal river-works under the label 'flood prevention'. Thus this beautiful historic town's meandering river is being given a straitjacket. And this morning, I woke up to the strangest sight -
-but before I tell you about this morning, if you haven't followed the saga of this beauty-spot's demise last year, or if you don't feel like searching the blog, perhaps I should give a short summary:
For centuries, the river Vltava with its three meanders hugged Cesky Krumlov's houses, reflected the glory of the castle above, brought wealth to the town and took away its dirt. The banks served as landing and unloading spaces, gathering places for washerwomen, as water-source for craftsmens' workshops, and as a drinking fount for animals. Though some of the banks were reinforced with stones, most shifted their shape from season to season, held only by ancient willows and alders whose roots became safe breeding spaces for fish and other river life. Every century or so a biggish flood would sweep through the town, but everyone knew this would pass and the riverside houses, built to withstand such floods, dried out and stood on.But now we have engineers, computers, and - glory of glories - European grants! What's more, now we like to think we can control Nature. So we can design nice, straight, computer-graphics and Powerpoint driven designs, and ruin what Nature shaped for centuries in one fell swoop. Just look at those straight, concrete-reinforced banks now! And so, for a year now, men in hard hats with massive earth-moving machinery have been at work like big boys in a sandpit. And one of the most gloriously romantic spots in town, its narrow island with trees and much local wildlife, was bulldozed to oblivion. When people protested, the Town Hall promised they would build a new island - a 'hydrodynamic' one, 'akin to an aircraft wing'. We thought they must have been making a very bad joke. But no.
So here we come to these last few days. Truly, a horrendous artificial island, reinforced and sterile, grew under the main bridge. And truly, it has the dimensions of a flat aircraft-wing. On it, a proud stone tablet, like some sad grave-stone, lists sponsors who supported this 'gift to the town's citizens'. Amusingly, the main sponsor is the company that owns the quarries that supplied all the stones for the straitjacket now gracing the riverbanks. Nice to know they had some cash to spare :-)And so we get to this morning: I was aghast as I saw something that looked like Christo the artist has come to town. Blokes with sheets of geo-fabric wrapping the new island, using 6 inch nails to fix it to the stony ground. 6 inch nails! - imagine what will happen when the water rises just a bit :-) - and then I watched them scratch their chins deciding how to plant a few tiny trees so they are in properly ordered straight line. Well, we'll watch this space, maybe I am biased and it'll all look wonderful in a year's time... if the willows are tough enough to root in soilless heap of stones.
As some of you know, we bought our riverside house last year, when it stood in the most romantic spot of the whole Cesky Krumlov. The romance is somewhat lessened now, as you can see, but I feel sad not for our sake only - I feel sad for the town that used to have its ancient architecture softened by the greenery of its riverside trees, by the organic way the river and the buildings fitted together. Of course I still love being here and I enjoy the river and its gifts despite the straitjacket - we all do (see my two blogs just below). But it's a pity that at a time when the rest of the civilised world is tearing down such brutal 'flood prevention' structures and reverting to organic river management, here no-one in authority - EU or UNESCO - lifted a finger to point out such new directives, no conservationist body or Green or ECO parties intervened: seems that money really does make the world go round.

The protest - a response from UNESCO

We have news that the Town has been asked by UNESCO to produce a report on the Flood prevention project, by this coming Monday.

In case it helps, here is a brief summary of just the one part of the huge project - regarding the island I so passionately blogged about:

The island was de-facto removed on Monday 18.5.

• Despite of the post-flood petition from the riverside residents in the year 2002, asking for a clearance of debris and some small alteration to the left bank. The Town Hall now bandies this petition about as its sole reason for having commissioned the Flood prevention project. ('It was only because residents asked for it...') The petition did not ask for the removal of the corpus of the island, neither has it asked for a great number of mature trees to be felled right in the middle of the heritage site..
• Despite of an open letter of 12.3.09 asking for the island to be retained
• Despite of the public open letter that collected in April 09 800+ signatures over a single weekend. The open letter asked for the retention of the island.
• Despite of a new petition of the riverside residents, of 3.4.09, which contradicts the Town Hall's press releases that the project was done at their behest, and reaffirms that they wish for the island - or at least a part of it, as compromise - to be retained.
• Despite of the fact that the un-ecological manner of the works contravenes several EU directives for such projects
  
• And despite an absence of any verifiable explanation, or officially accessible scientific or project documentation that would justify the total removal.of the island, the trees, and, indeed much other damage that is still being done in the name of this project, such as
• concrete-structured banks at a utilitarian angle running along most of the river edge within the historic centre
• an - as yet unexplained - iron turntable weir to replace the existing stone one under the castle
• the 'taming' of the river course including a removal of a protected historic bridge on the river Polecnice, a tributary to Vltava - which threatens to increase its flow into the very town centre that the works are meant to protect.
  

The Town Hall will surely have done their homework in response to UNESCO's call. I can only hope that what they produce is not the usual whitewash: the way the protesters' requests were treated - with absence of proofs, polite sarcasm and downright ridicule - would surely not wash when Unesco asks similar questions, would it.

Meanwhile here is a link to a short video on the official Cesky Krumlov website, which shows off Krumlov's beauty; ironically, it is of the island with its trees still intact :-) http://www.fotogalerie.ckrumlov.cz/php/fotogalerie/panorama/index.php?lang=cz&vr=9
Should they not replace it with a new video showing what it looks like now???

ducks at the ex-island

No photo this time as my blog is about dusk - My friend and I sat at the riverbank and watched the ducks' confusion as they swam and flew about the sad few tufts and stones that still stick out of the river where the island has been (the digging hasn't yet completely finished). The saddest of all was the fact that there was only a single duckling among them. Just the one. Its mum was leading it here and there around the place where presumably their nest would have been, but the river was flowing over it and so the whole effort was futile. My companion remarked how last year we watched from the same place whole families - trains of 6-9 ducklings each following their mums into the tall grasses of the island of an evening.
We also saw tonight the pair of ex-resident wagtails, also confused. Only the local blackbird sat atop the church spire singing his heart out as if nothing was amiss :-)

We then went upstream and saw not a single duckling, let alone a family of ducklings anywhere. Might be able to take some photos tomorrow when it's daylight, but for now I just had to write down what I saw. Oh, well, maybe I am being sentimental, maybe this is such a small thing in the whole scheme of things and the world of course goes on - but I have to say that my blood boils. After all it's the little things that, put together, make the world what it is. And by our interfering with it we all carry the responsibility for changing it for better or worse, aren't we. I am so sorry we failed in our efforts to save the island, really am.

This afternoon at 2pm the digger arrived at the island. Our protests and all those signatures against the removal of the island were in vain. Crunch - the first bite and the ducks scattered, forming little protective groups around the little ducklings, still very young.
The resident birds flew up, screeching in panic. And then we watched as, scoop after scoop, what remained of the little urban nature reserve was destroyed. Wild flowers, roots, reeds, water gladioli...
They told us that they will build a new - much smaller - island instead. But will the concrete island ever be able to serve the wildlife for whom the natural island was a safe home?Poor old Krumlov too: the old houses shall be framed by a concreted river. And what of its people? On the opposite bank from us, an Italian has been running a very successful and much beloved cafe, whose terrace is a picture of lovely greenery, where visitors from all over the world like to sit and enjoy the riverside under the castle. The Italian came to Krumlov some 20 years ago - but despite his long residency here he hasn't yet been able to find out from the Town hall whether his terrace will be bulldozed away or not! Even today, he still didn't know, whilst the bulldozer ate away at the island in front of his eyes. 'What will you do if they take your terrace away?', I asked. He shrugged: 'Go back to Italy'.This is a town that lives and breathes tourism - it is its only real source of income. If more people like this hard-working cafe owner leave, if more tourists, or even UNESCO, get fed up with a town that makes life of its residents and visitors harder and uglier by the day, if massive signature campaign doesn't produce a democratic result, what will the Town hall live on? One can bake the goose that lays golden eggs and have a fabulous dinner, but there will be no more golden eggs after that.

Protest? What protest?

I seem to be surrounded by diggers, both at the lake house and now here in Krumlov too. But while the lake house digging should, I hope, result in something positive, here in Krumlov I feel simply depressed. What can I say? All our efforts to at least moderate the impact of the works on the natural urban landscape of this jewel of a town have been met with whitewash, sarcasm and utter lack of relevant information.I took a dawn walk along the river today - the weir under the castle is already prepared for remodelling (you can see the water being diverted from it to the sluices only) - but we have not been able to see ANY plans for the proposed metal 'turning barrier' that is supposed to replace it. The Town Hall is issuing various press releases where it proclaims itself as the saviour of the town but no actual scientific facts or any studies why this should be so have been published. Judging by the only thing I know for sure, which is that the island (see previous posts) is definitely going to be removed and replaced by a small concrete one - a fact that is being sold to the public (and to UNESCO?) as the Town Hall's generous sop to the protestors, I doubt that anything else they say can possibly be reliable. So now, as the result of all our protest efforts, we are to be responsible for an ugly bit of concrete; what irony.

I wrote to the Town Hall, suggesting that they might as well populate their concrete 'island' with plastic ducks and astroturf, as no living creature would want to make its home on it. I wouldn't be surprised if they take my suggestion seriously.

A proud vision of the future???

I just had to put this one up. It's by a local artist who wanted to immortalise the fabulous sentence uttered by the Cesky Krumlov Mayor, Lubos Jedlicka, now published in our local paper by his ever loyal (and seemingly the only) journalist - about re-shaping the island into a 'stable hydrodynamic shape akin to an aircraft wing'. (the text on the wing is a wordplay on the word Starosta = Mayor, made up of two core words: starost = worry, fear, and ostrov = island).
For more on this story, read the post below.

PS
Today (11.04.09) we got a reaction to this post which I'd like to have up here, so here goes:

gaviota said...

I read the comment of Luboš Jedlička in the newspaper that you quote, which I repost for the Czech to light up more... I cannot believe it, he really said it:

„S investorem jsem diskutoval možnost úpravy ostrova a jeho stabilizaci. V úvahu by mohlo přijít vymodelování ostrova do stabilního hydrodynamického tvaru podobně, jako jsou konstruována křídla letadel. Ve stávající podobě není možné ostrov zachovat,“ konstatoval v úterý starosta Luboš Jedlička

protest continues

Well, what can I say. There is so much going on that to be brief is hard. The new letter with the embankment residents' denial of the accusations by the Town hall that claimed the works are in response to the residents' exact demands, has now effectively disproved any such claim. So the Town hall called another meeting with the river authority yesterday. Today they issued an official press release.
The press release is 2 pages long (unfortunately just in Czech). It's proud title says 'The town council asks the River authority to consider the possibility of keeping the island under Lazebnicky Bridge'. Hooray, one might think. But read on and soon the arrogant manipulation of its message becomes apparent. Remember, what we want is to keep the island, in its natural form, even if perhaps somewhat reduced in length for compromise, and not to have the banks encased in concrete. Well, this is a quote form our Mayor, Lubos Jedlicka, who says he is trying to find a compromise between the demands of the CK citizens and the council's need to protect them from high water: 'I discussed with the investor the possibility of modification and stabilisation of the island. We may consider a remodelling of the island into a stable hydrodynamic shape, similar to the construction of aircraft wings (!!!?). The island cannot be kept in its present shape...neither the town nor the investor can bear the responsibility of the consequences of some rash scoop-out of the river bed that would leave a dangerous mass of material on its bottom. We must wait for the expert analysis of the project engineer'.
The same project engineer who designed this brutal project in the first place, that is. So that much for the louded and benevolent attempt to keep the island. The rest of the 2 pages then tells us again and again how the island will be disposed of, or kept in this 're-modelled' form. How convenient. Here is another quote, this time from one of the protesters: 'It seems I live in a surreal world. Our striving to retain a natural enclave in the centre of this town has beautifully played into the main investor's hands, in fact it has helped all of those who will participate financially in the project. So the island needn't be removed, but will have a hydrodynamic shape - as if its present shape wasn't formed by water, or was somehow blocking the river at 90 degrees! What fantastic reasons to have to invest more and yet more millions. ... We asked the Town Hall questions*, we sent them to the appropriate departments, to the appropriate officers. We published them on our website. And save for a few evasive phrases in response to our first question, we got no other answers. Why? Because every question is a call for responsibilty. So we complicate the officers' lives, and they in turn erect Don-quixotian mills in our path. What's certain is that we have smoothed the way to yet more lucrative jobs for certain companies...'
I wish someone would have the courage to open the Pandora's box of the opportunities and relationships that underlie this huge investment project. Or should we just give up, and look forward to sitting by a sterile bank of the river in a town that once attracted tourists from all over the world.

*- Why was it necessary to cut down mature trees in the centre of town by the river Vltava?
- Who is directly responsible for the felling of the trees?
- How and from what materials will be reconstructed, and what character will take, the left bank after the works?
- Will there be any changes to the right bank?
- How will the river be in the Summer months, during 'low water' periods when Vltava in its newly deepened bed changes to a narrow 'brook' and the drying mud on its (concrete) sides stinks?
- Where and how can one access detailed plans to the project for the riverbed changes and the reconstruction of the weir? Will they be publicised so the citizens may be informed adequately and early about the planned changes to the historic townscape?
- Is, and has UNESCO been informed about the tree felling and other changes to the look of the historic town?

another short update on protest

We now have a copy of the original 'petition' from 2002 which the Town hall so victoriously tried to use as ammunition to argue this whole huge project is happening in response to the residents' wishes. It was interesting that when we asked to see the petition, no-one in authority was able or willing to produce the original. But one of the embankment residents has kept a copy which clearly shows that all that is being asked for is what I already listed in my last post.
So we went round all the past signatories and managed to get every single one to sign a new letter, denying the Town Hall's interpretation and re- asserting the original wish, with emphasis on the fact that NO trees were asked to be removed and the banks were to be left natural!

More meetings with the officials at the Town hall. This time their argument is 'well, it's up to the River authority to make the final decision. The Town hall can't as we don't want to be legally responsible for any flooding to your houses if another flood comes'. And the river authority says that it will do whatever the Town hall decides. And so on and so on. So really we must hope that UNESCO starts asking some questions. We don't have the means to hire lawyers. But we aren't giving up. The thought of the river and the town suffering such an ecological and aesthetic damage is worth the fight.

Protest update

While the ducks struggle to nest on their denuded island and the now treeless banks, the protesters are still fighting an uphill battle. Last Thursday there was a regular monthly council meeting at the town hall which is open to public. The flood-prevention issue was one of the points on the agenda, as the result of the pressure that the protest caused. A time limit was allocated. One 'expert' after another spoke at length using powerpoint and much engineering jargon to explain how their 'taming' of the river will prosper the town*. All their calculations were based on a projected 'potential 100year flood' event - not the normal levels which are very low most Summers. Flood may or may not happen again (and it is common assertion, of course denied by the authorities, that the last big flood was caused by mismanagement of the dam upstream) but the damage to the natural environment would be permanent, and the aesthetic damage to this UNESCO monument is incalculable - after all, what is it that brings a million tourists into the town every year? The gentle organic banks with their greenery and trees were in beautiful harmony with the higgledy piggledy architecture of the town. Imagine what will be seen (after all, most of the time there's no flood and the water is low): a neat, straight, computer-calculated concrete and stone embankment with narrow stream of water. Possibly with mud and rubbish alongside it.
But the authorities' 'piece de resistance' came when they said that this whole effort is in response to an open letter from 2002, by the residents in Parkan street - the embankment - who specifically asked for flood prevention works to be done. Apparently this included the complete removal of the island and the chopping of the trees. The councillors didn't have the document on hand, but spoke with much fervour about it, using it to embarass one of the chief protesters, who apparently signed it then, and now wants the opposite! Much sarcasm and laughter in the audience, especially at the top table. What tactics! The poor man was totally lost: he knew that neither he nor any other residents signed any such thing. There was an open letter, it is true, straight after the huge flood but it was asking for a removal of a concrete barrier lower downstream, and a deepening of the existing riverbed. So now our friend has to go and prove it (I will report on this as we go along).
Anyway, our side spoke for 4 minutes and there was no more time allowed after the 45 minutes have elapsed. We waited for two hours for the end of the council session for the 'any other business' window. By which time everyone wanted to go home. But we did manage to bring up a couple of points, and there were some councillors who were on our side, asking for an alternative project to be commissioned. But they were more or less laughed out of the court by the pro-works side: now? Why didn't they ask for it earlier? The project is ready, the works should commence, planning permissions are in place... 'our' side argued that all the documentation was too vague - deliberately?- for them to realise the projected extent of the damage. OK. Maybe mistakes and oversights were made. But at least what they achieved for now is that there will be more discussions on the theme this coming week.

Whatever happened to bring this on, the issue still remains - the uglification of this beautiful town, and the damage to its nature. So if you want to help the councillors who are on our side, you can do two things -
1/email the Town Hall (addressed to the Mayor, Ing. Luboš Jedlička) c/o Bozena.Kaliskova@mu.ckrumlov.cz adding your name in support of the petition of March 2009 that asks for the retaining of the small island under Lazebnicky bridge
2/ write to UNESCO and ask whether they are aware of this situation, the citizens' protests, and the extent of damage the projected works may cause. The name and contact details are:wh-info@unesco.org

*We cannot argue the engineering side of things as we have no supporting documentation or qualifications. The experts' presentations neatly showed how removing the island, deepening the riverbed and strengthening the banks with a mix of stone and concrete at a 26degree angle would reduce the flood levels by up to 60 cms. None of it made real sense to us, as according to even their own calculations, removing the island alone would only make a small difference, maybe 5-10cms, and anyway by the time the water level reached the level of what is now the top of the island, it would spill out over the new barrier. And we believe that to calculate a true behaviour of a flood would need chaos theory anyway, as water cannot behave according to tables and one'd need to take into account all sorts of factors such as the amount of debris flowing, etc. But all that's perhaps not the point. The point is that these experts didn't once mention any other water levels except the highly unlikely '100year flood event' or indeed any cultural and environmental aspects.

progress on the Protest????

Just a quick update, things are looking promising but we are still treading gently before any celebrating may begin: the Town council has called a special meeting for this coming Monday to discuss possible 'compromise regarding the flood-prevention works including the retaining of the island'.
Obviously, the pressure from the public - and our 'duck' protest was only one of many (people were writing to the Town hall directly, publishing pamphlets, signing web-petitions etc) - must be ringing alarm bells. A thorough investigation of how these works came to be commissioned is obviously something the authorities wouldn't like to come about....
Well, we shall see. More on Monday

the protest is growing in strength

Today groups of people were seen discussing the issues around the disappeared trees and the about-to-disappear island. And in just two hours, over three hundred more signatures were added to the petition. Generally, outrage is still being felt, not just by the citizens of this town but by native visitors, too (the petition is in Czech so no foreigners signed, although they, too, often stopped by and expressed their interest and support).
And the model duck on the island has attracted media interest so the issues are also being aired by journalists (very cautiously!) and on various newspaper web-forums.
Mostly, people are cross that they haven't been told in advance about the demise of the trees. Or the planned removal of the island. Well, the most often quoted defense by the town's luminaries is that 'information was given out duly, and well in advance'. So a couple of activists spent hours in libraries looking through past issues of local papers, and examining the town hall's past public notices. Yes, there were a few tiny - sort of 'by the way' - mentions of an application for grants for flood prevention back in 2007, but no mention of trees or island in particular, or of the actual extent of the works in question. The actual applications and building permissions, as well as the environment commission approval somehow happened. Quietly. More work needs to be done in this area before any meaningful action could be taken - but I am happy to report that the protest activities must be stirring the Town hall at least a little bit, as the Mayor who until a couple of days ago was always saying 'it's been approved, what can I do now?' has been quoted in a local paper saying he will see what he can do!

So keep those fingers crossed please. The trees can't come back now, but we may - just - save the island. And make sure no other damage is being quietly prepared within this 'flood-prevention project': apparently the grant given for this is 180 000 000 crowns (cca 6 million pounds) that's a lot of money to spend on the poor old river within such a tiny town area as Krumlov. The river rising has always been part of every Spring's picture, sometimes barely lapping the bank, sometimes spilling like fury. But the sturdy mediaeval houses on its banks, built with floods in mind, saw no damage except getting very wet. Unpleasant, yes - some years VERY unpleasant, but people who lived there always knew, and know now, that this may happen from time to time - and the calculations about removing the island would mean a difference of 10cm(!) in the water-height flow. Which actually means no difference at all, given how high the floods can get once in a hundred years or so. And by the way, the biggest flood, in 2002, was allegedly caused not by Nature but at least partly by mismanagement of the outflow of the dam upstream during high water, because its reservoir (Lipno lake) is a popular place with Dutch tourists whose Marina had (allegedly) a contract with the river authority about keeping the water level at a constant height. Whereas before, the lake was always let down in anticipation of Spring surge in its inlets.
But I am no engineer, so maybe I am veering onto a territory I am not qualified to touch. All I can say is that every single person asked who lives in the riverside houses (bar one) has answered to the activists' questions that they would rather suffer the occassional floods than watch the devastation of their so-far gentle and pleasant banks. Let alone the gaping damage to the UNESCO town monument's overall feel. Goodness, they'd better start printing new postcards now that the greenery has gone from the banks!

Ducks fight back

This morning, the citizens of Cesky Krumlov woke up to a strange sight: there under the bridge at the island stands a proud, three metres high Duck, with banners proclaiming: 'Ducks against diggers', and 'don't take our island away'. Whatever next???? :-)

Barbaric? The sad demise of a jewel

A few days ago, there was a shockwave going through the town. Phones rang, people stopped eachother in the street: have you seen what's happening??? And down by the riverside, shocked groups wondered about like lost souls, shaking their heads in disbelief - one by one, 21 beautiful, mature trees were being felled in front of their eyes. Some even hundreds of years old. Huge pieces of machinery were carving deep ruts in the soft banks as their hungry teeth and jaws picked the fallen trunks, some up to 120cms in diameter, dragging them away like powerless matchsticks. 'You can't do this'! shouted those who were able to find some voice through their tears. To no avail, of course: the workmen had permission, this is all completely legal so what's the fuss? And when the trees are felled, it'll be the turn of the small narrow island that for centuries provided the so often photographed, soft, green contrast to the stone and cobble architecture of this picturesque town, and was a home to a much loved population of wild ducks - just getting ready to raise their young.

People of Cesky Krumlov (like so many others?) roughly divide into two kinds: ordinary citizens, and politicians/bureocrats. And then there are a few who occasionally try to have their words heard (some hope!). And so very quickly a petition was put together, hundreds of signatures are being collected still - but of course everyone knows it won't help because - as usual - this barbaric idea got through the planning stages as cleverly as so many others. 'There will be some flood prevention works on the embankment', we were told, but the details were subject to a 'special regime', so no mention that the ancient trees, mostly willows that ancestors planted precisely to prevent the banks from eroding during high water, would be felled, and certainly not a mention of the planned demise of the small island that was a mini-nature reserve in itself, home not just to the ducks but also to a (locally rare) bird Motacilla cinerea, a diverse population of rare species of insects, and to the occasional otter. One stroke of a bureocratic pen, and voila! all gone.

I am watching an old woman, frail but dignified: 'flood prevention?' she says. 'No; it's the way forests are managed, water-meadows and peat bogs are kept, that floods are prevented. It's in management of outflow from Lipno dam - not here. Casing the banks in concrete? What arrogance... how can you try to outwit Nature?' Her neighbour chipped in: 'Someone somewhere got their hands on a grant, it's that simple'.
Could it really have been that simple?
(the picture below is a reverse pov of the embankment last Summer: the trees within the marked circle are no longer here)