Czechia might be landlocked but it has a very enthusiastic scuba diving community, who make up for their lack of coastline by exploring the deep abysses of the country’s extensive flooded cave system, dams and flooded abandoned mines. It’s also what makes closed-circuit rebreathers so popular with Czech divers. Here’s five of Czechia’s most interesting dive experiences
Hranická Abyss
Located near Přerovin the eastern region of Olomouc, Hranická Abyss is perhaps the most well-known cave diving location in Czechia, and the deepest-known flooded cave system in the world. Its given depth of 404m remains only an estimate, as the bottom has yet to be reached. Due to the unusual way the cave was formed by rising acid dissolving the limestone mass from below, the structure of the cave is almost vertical, with many branches and crevices and the occasional dry spot rising out of the water.
Because research and exploration of the abyss is still ongoing, only members of the Hranický Karst Diving Club are currently permitted to dive the cave. The team exclusively use Liberty rebreathers from Czech manufacturer Divesoft, as open circuit scuba is prohibited inside the cave due to the damage exhaled bubbles can cause to the walls of the abyss.
Hraničná flooded mine
There are other flooded karst caves in Czechia similar to the Hranická Abyss, but the narrow galleries and turbid water makes diving in most of them extremely difficult. Much more accessible is the flooded mine of Hraničná, north of the Hranická Abyss, near the Polish border in the Rychlebské mountains. The mine was closed in 1968 after more than a hundred years of use, and has been flooded ever since. The 12m-deep mine is filled with crystal-clear water with a visibility of up to 30m, allowing for easy exploration of the mine’s galleries, timber support structures, railings, and mining machinery. Individual horizontal galleries can be found at 20, 46, 75 and 96m deep.
Hraničná is popular among Czech, Polish and German divers, but access to the mine is subject to an entry fee. It is possible to use open-circuit scuba while diving the mine, but rebreathers are essential for proper exploration.
St. Stephen’s Church
Located on the Orlická Dam in Těchnice is the remarkably well-preserved ruins of the St Stephen’s, a 14th-century church now 45-60m below the surface of the Orlická’s reservoir. The church was cleared out and burnt down before the area was flooded for the dam, which will undoubtedly come as some disappointment to sunken treasure hunters, but divers can explore the Gothic remains of the building including its gable, ribbed vaulted ceiling, Gothic windows and cast-iron bannisters.
The visibility is often poor and changeable due to the waters of the Vltava river flowing through the nearby Šumava peat bogs, but can reach an acceptable 8m on a good day. Even the clear water, however, is tinted with acids from decomposed plants, which absorb much of the available light.
Jewish Cemetery
One notable and yet mysterious location not known by many in the Czech Republic – with only ten divers having explored it – is the remains of a sunken Jewish cemetery. The cemetery was originally part of a larger town that was torn down and flooded in 1971 to make way for the construction of a new dam. The cemetery was the only part of the town that was not destroyed. It was discovered in 2014 by Jakub Šimánek, but its location is kept secret because it is strictly forbidden to enter.
Svobodné Heřmanice & Borek
One of Czechia’s most beautiful diving locations – and suitable for all experience levels – are the flooded quarries Svobodné Heřmanice and Borek in the Vysočina region. Both quarries offer good visibility between 10m in the summer and up to 25m below the ice in winter. The Borek quarry is often used for CCR Liberty practical training and many foreign divers from Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and other locations around the world have had the opportunity to dive and train here.
Whether you are a beginner or a professional diver, there are a few places in Czechia that are definitely worth a visit. Diving does not only need to be about shipwrecks and exotic sea wildlife – sometimes even a flooded church or abandoned mine can offer breathtaking underwater experiences.
