Czech lake reveals gravestones from lost village
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A visitor to Lake Lipno in Czechia noticed exposed gravestones and alerted authorities, leading to the recovery of relics from Dolní Vltavice, a village submerged when the lake was created in the 1950s.
Experts and volunteers have recovered twelve stone relics dating mostly to the second half of the 19th century, with the oldest dating back to 1849.
Historical research shows the stones originally lay beyond the cemetery wall and were pushed into a pile by machinery before the reservoir filled, rather than being properly preserved with the remains. The village of Dolní Vltavice, documented as far back as the 13th century, once housed over 400 people, primarily German speakers, before they were expelled after World War II. The settlement was then demolished to make way for the Lipno dam and reservoir.
The recovered gravestones are now in temporary storage as the Regional Museum in Český Krumlov and the National Heritage Institute work to find a permanent, respectful place for them. Researchers hope to connect inscriptions on the stones with individual stories and restore some of the identity of the lost community.
