The Transformation of Šumava Mountains at the time of industrialization: Forgotten Traces of Woodworkers

The aim of the thesis is to show the changes and the development of the landscape and the settlement of the region of central Šumava mountains due to industrialization in the 19th century. The thesis is based theoretically and methodologically in the field of anthropology of landscape and industrial archeology. It combines archive written and cartographic sources with non-destructive field research of anthropogenic relics. The industrialization of the area of interest meant the woodworking expansion that was caused by the lack of firewood in Prague and its surroundings and was realized as a business plan by the noble Schwarzenberg family. Schwarzenberg forest exploatation and timber floating system for firewood transport have brought significant landscape changes to hitherto almost untouched mountaneous forested areas. The field research has identified elements of the floating timber system, such as water reservoirs, watercourse troughs or the Vchynicko-Tetovský floating canal, as well as traces of both, permanent and seasonal settlement of woodcutters. The work divides the area into four zones, depending on how they were used, settled and transformed during the 19th century. The greatest attention is devoted to zone no. I, the remote forest area, which has become a major resource area for the Schwarzenberg..