The Breuer Spring and Fischer Stone

Following the road from Nová Ves to Smržovka, in the direction of Tanvald, you will pass the Cement works bus stop. On the right there is the Tomeš company, site of the former Roigk porcelain and cement works. The road bisects the lane from the Church of the Archangel Michael in Smržovka to Nová Mýtina. This former cart track was replaced in 1912 by a new road with two wide bends, built by Antonin Heinrich Breuer of Jelení Kout, No.171. If you follow the road up to the right into the forest you will see a small forest spring – Breuer’s Spring – on the left above the track. The spring rises where Liberec and Tanvald granite meet and is encompassed by a small dam. The water flows from beneath a dressed granite block, upon which an inscription reads “Ant. Breuer 1893”, which is still visible today. The builder of the road was also the owner of this land, and it was he who created this picturesque landmark.

This place is part of the Smržovka scenic route, which continues from here through the forest, turning right after about 100m to the new Smržovka sledge run. The path we follow is in fact the former sledge run, opened in 1912, which finished at the above-mentioned Roigk porcelain works.

About 100m from where the road turns right there is a barely visible woodland path off up to the right which takes us up to another local place of interest – the Fischer Stone. This is a boulder in which the initials FJF and the date 1849 are carved. According to folklore two brothers were quarrelling over this piece of rocky forest, and so finally agreed to use this boulder to mark the boundary between them.