Titel: Competition instead of co-operation Duration: 4‘19‘‘
Insert: Author Rozalia Romaniec Camera Piotr Pasierbski Edited by Ursula Bredow Production RBB
Content: There is hardly any cross-border tourism at the Polish-Czech border in the Giant Mountains. Transport links between the two important ski resorts Szklarska Poreba and Harrachov are inadequate. The background: both sides fear the movement of tourists to the other side.
Text:
White fun in the Polish Giant Mountains. Most of the guests in Szklarska Poreba come from western Poland. Easy and medium-difficult pistes run through the forests of the national park. Here, nature comes first - the skiers have to observe the rules of the national parks. From here, you can see the neighbouring town of Harrachov, the only winter sports region in the Czech Republic. Here, the skier is king. There is hardly any cross-border co-operation between the two towns. From Szklarska Poreba buses go to Warzaw and Berlin, but not to Harrachov.
O Tone Renata Schefer I live right here at the bus stop. Often people ask me how to get to the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, I have to say: it’s not possible by bus.
There is also no train going to the Czech Republic. For trains coming from Warzaw, Szklarska Poreba is the final stop. From here, it’s only five kilometres to Harrachov, but also for the trains this is “the end of the road”.
O Tone Wojciech Grzybowski Mountain Railway Development Association Until 1945 a proper mountain railway was running here. The line was built more than a hundred years ago. It provided transport for the tourists throughout the whole area of the Giant Mountains. Daily, five trains arrived from Berlin and Dresden, continuing on to the Czech Republic.
Today, because the line was shut down, you can only get to Harrachov by car. But that takes time. On the Czech side of the border, 60 per cent of the guests are German tourists, mainly from Saxony and Brandenburg. In Harrachov, people adjusted to them long ago. The Polish skiing region, however, is almost unknown here.
O Tone Sandra Wendt People only talk about Harrachov in the Czech Republic, but not about Poland. That you can also go skiing there – we just don’t hear about it.
Two skiing regions, completely cut off from each other. Wojciech Grzybowski from the development association of the old mountain railway wants to change that, together with Harrachov’s mayor. Both agree that good transport links, also on rails, are essential for a better co-operation in the border region.
O Tone Václav Cajthaml Mayor of Harrachov The mountain railway has to start operating again. It is a good alternative to the increasing traffic polluting our region. The historical railway would also be an additional tourist attraction, and it would connect the places in an ecological way.
So far only the Czech-Polish border traffic is ecological: ski touring along the green frontier. The cross-country trail - 60 kilometres long – runs on the Polish side of the Polish-Czech border. It is one of the longest and most modern ski trails in Europe. Here, athletes from Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic are training together.
O Tone Julian Gozdowski Ski club "Bieg Piastow" in Jakuszyce Among the athletes, co-operation is just great. When the cross-country skiing world cup was happening here, and we, the Poles, didn’t have enough snow, the Czechs immediately organised help. And when they needed snow at the ski-jumping world championship, they – of course – got it from us.
Back to Szklarska Poreba. In the winter, tourists can drive with sleighs along the old romantic railway line. On the Polish side, however, chances for the new old railroad are not good.
O Tone Wojciech Grzybowski If you ask me: the main problem is the strong lobby of the hoteliers. They fear that tourists from Poland would go by train to the Czech Republic. Quite a few hoteliers are afraid that skiing conditions in Harrachov might be better. Here, nobody understands that the old railway wouldn’t bring less but, quite the contrary, more tourists.
In the sledge company’s lodge, the future of tourism in the region is often discussed. After entering the EU, the borders, in fact, will still be a barrier but the Poles want to face the challenge of turning the Giant Mountains into an attractive ski region.
O Tone Tadeusz Glebocki A sound competition is only positive. It stimulates business in the region. Ok, right now it’s going a bit better in the Czech Republic. That, however, can change quickly, if we develop some good ideas instead of lazing around. We have to think about what we can do, so that people like coming to us. That’s our chance.
weitere Infos /
Die Stadt Szklarska Poreba Information Grazyna Biedermann Ul. Jednosci Narodowej 3 PL 58-580 Szklarska Poreba www.szklarskaporeba.pl
Ski Langlauf Strecke Bieg Piastow Julian Gozdowski Szklarska Poreba – Jakuszyce Telefon 0048 75 717 33 38 www.bieg-piastow.pl
Bürgermeister von Harrachov Vaclav Cajthaml Centrum 150 CZ 512-46 Harrachov Telefon 00420 481 52 94 25 www.harrachov.cz
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