Ze Šumavy – Klostermann Karel (2021)

This Czech-language book presents sketches from the lives of people in the wild Šumava landscape along the border between Bohemia and Bavaria at the end of the 19th century, as civilization begins to reach the romantically rugged mountain region. Karel Klostermann came to know Šumava as a student, spending his holidays there each year and falling in love with its untouched forests, including true primeval woodland where an unwary stranger could easily lose the way and disappear without a trace. He also grew close to the local inhabitants, who struggle to make a living in the harsh natural environment, and shares their joys and sorrows through stories from the present and the past. The book observes the changing relations between Czechs and Germans, who had long lived together in the region before national tensions began to emerge. Klostermann’s enthusiasm for the beauty of Šumava and its people fills the work, which he dedicated to the region’s inhabitants. He originally wrote his first book in German; Marie Stunová translated it into Czech in 1923, and the author approved her text shortly before his death. This edition presents the work in its original form.