Uhelná, 2020
Uhelná: Before the water runs out
“Water actually was the reason for the founding of today’s Uhelná. According to an old legend, people moved here from the border because of the empty wells. The first people in Uhelná were coal makers and it was from them that this settlement got its name. They settled in the forests on the edge of the Grabštejn estate. (…) The coal makers burned charcoal in charcoal mills and lived in huts in the pastures. The later inhabitants of Uhelná worked mainly in the fields and kept cows. (…) Water was always so plentiful that they could give it away and later even sell it. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a water cooperative that operated wells on the outskirts of the village. With the help of wind wheels, water was lifted from the hill to the surface and fed into the water pipes that ran from there towards Hrádek.
In recent decades, however, nothing is certain anymore, not even running water. First the healing springs in nearby Bad Oppelsdorf disappeared due to lignite mining in Poland, and later the water in Uhelná also began to disappear. And what will happen next? People on the hill and in the surrounding area will be left without water. A frightening prediction…”
Text Marek Řeháček, excerpt from the book “Hrádek region: the landscape on the Nisa River”
