Týn nad Vltavou has a new underground attraction

Premiere type: Monuments and history. We recommend for: Holidays with children, Holidays for young people, Active holidays.
Announced: August 2008

In a visitor’s tour that opened in Týn nad Vltavou in July 2008, you can discover the underground tunnels that emanate from the town’s small chateau and stretch beyond the courtyard and under the town square, where they connect with the cellars of the town’s houses.

Visitors currently can traverse almost 200 m of opened tunnels. The narrow and winding tunnels, which were all cut by hand, all have efficient lighting. Of particular interest are the areas at the entrance and exit, constructed from brick with brick vaults.

From the 15th century, the tunnels were used by the town inhabitants as a food store, as a shelter from fire and, during times of war, as a hideaway or as a place to deposit their valuables. The catacombs have openings into practically every town house in the vicinity of the square. The tunnels certainly lead also to the area of the original Gothic castle. Upon purchasing a ticket in the chateau (in the museum ticket office), visitors descend, accompanied by a guide, into the cellars under the chateau building. Here, they obtain protective clothing and lamps. As the tunnels are narrow and low and, in some places, have around 10 cm of underground water and are very damp, the route is quite difficult and is not recommended for people suffering from a fear of enclosed spaces or lack of mobility or who have respiratory problems. At the start of the tour, there is a mock-up of the narrowest profile, where visitors can test whether they can pass through the entire route or only the more spacious parts. According to archaeological findings, the tunnels are medieval, probably dating back to the 15th century. They are cut by hand from the rocky subsoil, which is formed of black mica.

The origin of this labyrinth is not quite clear. There basically exist three theories: drainage for the town square with drinking water storage, shelter from danger, including an escape route, or mining of some unknown mineral.

As the route is more than 160 m long, and it is necessary to pass in both directions, the entire length of the tour is around 320 m. A number of blind side-tunnels branch off from the main route, and visitors, therefore, are strongly recommended to stay close to the guide. The route includes two wells with drinking water and an artificially created pool. Also of interest are the marks of tunnelling tools on the walls and the unfinished entrance to a tunnel to the surface, the so-called “nadlom”. Whilst cleaning the underground tunnels, a set of dice were found that dated to sometime between the 15th and 18th centuries, as well as one of the most interesting discoveries, an iron ball from a muzzle-loading rifle.