--- title: "Horní Bečva dam: swimming, a walk and its history" description: "The Horní Bečva dam offers a grassy beach, a jetty, a playground and a walk along the crest. Read its flood-defence story and the old quarry next door." url: "https://zpusteven.cz/horni-becva-reservoir" lang: "en" latitude: 49.4224 longitude: 18.3164 --- ![An aerial view of the Horní Bečva dam - the curve of the earth dam with its tower structure, the road above the reservoir and the wooded ridges of the Beskids](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0010.avif) Reservoir • Horní Bečva • the Beskids # The Horní Bečva dam The only one completed of the dozens of dams planned for Wallachia between the wars. - **Built:** 1933–1944 - **Purpose:** flood defence - **Swimming:** freely accessible - **Water surface:** about 10 ha ## It held back the floods and brought the holidaymakers The valley of the [Rožnovská Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovska-becva) is closed 2.5 km beyond the centre of Horní Bečva by the curve of an earth dam. It was built here **as a defence against flooding** and it still protects against it today. For visitors it offers water in the mountains: swimming from a grassy beach with a jetty, and a walk along the crest of the dam. ![The whole Horní Bečva reservoir from above - the dam with its tower structure in the background, a jetty and beach in the near bay, the road along the right bank](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0997.avif) The Horní Bečva dam by drone - the whole reservoir from the bay to the dam. Why come here ### Water and holidays in the mountains Natural swimming with a **grassy beach and a gently shelving sandy entry**. Plus a jetty, a children's playground and a walk along the crest of the dam with a view over the whole water surface. When to come ### Summer for the water, otherwise for the walk Swimming is a summer affair - **the regional public health authority monitors the water quality in season**. Out of season it is mostly anglers and walkers who come. The reservoir is freely accessible all year. What not to miss ### The dam and the quarry Walk **along the crest of the dam** to the footbridge of the tower structure - the white house above the water. At the far end of the reservoir, try the circuit with the [lookouts in the former quarry](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry). ![The upstream face of the dam, reinforced with stone pitching and paving, with the tower structure and its footbridge from the crest in the middle](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0992.avif) ## The story of the dam at Horní Bečva Of the dozens of reservoirs planned for Wallachia between the wars, one was built. It stands above Horní Bečva. Floods and grand plans ### Water that took what it wanted [The braided Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovska-becva) - A hundred years ago · It ran in a wide, shallow gravel channel and cut itself a different course whenever it flooded. At the beginning of the 20th century **devastating floods** swept through the Bečva valley. The answer was to be an ambitious one: a system of reservoirs in the mountains to catch the flood water before it could do damage. The plans went further still. Most of the reservoirs under consideration were also to **supply water to the proposed Danube–Oder Canal** - a great dream of interwar Czechoslovakia. In the end the grand plans came to nothing. By the middle of the 20th century only two dams had been built in the Bečva basin: Bystřička, finished as early as 1912, and Horní Bečva. ![The bay at the upper end of the reservoir where the Rožnovská Bečva flows in - a jetty, a grassy beach and a children's playground by the shore](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0993.avif) 1933–1944 ### Built between two wars The design was drawn up by Stavební správa zemědělskotechnická v Prostřední Bečvě and approved by the ministry of agriculture on **16 March 1932**. The state, the land of Moravia-Silesia and the municipality all shared the cost. The designers chose the site of the dam with care: in the geologically difficult Carpathian flysch they found a stretch with sound bedrock. **Several farmsteads were bought up and demolished** for the future reservoir. The road that ran along the valley floor was moved to the slope above the future water level. The dam is an earth dam. It was built up from local materials: the earth was dug in the area of the future reservoir itself and the stone came from quarries nearby, with better stone brought from the valley below [Kněhyně](https://zpusteven.cz/en/knehyne). The work dragged on through the whole occupation: the dam was brought into service **in 1944** and into permanent operation in 1947. ![An aerial view of the curve of the earth dam with the tower structure and its footbridge, road I/35 on the left, the spillway chute on the right](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0012.avif) How it works ### What the dam can do The earth dam curves in plan. A clay core makes it watertight, and stone pitching and paving reinforce the upstream face. Its main task has not changed in ninety years: **to catch the flood surge** and to top up the flow in the Bečva in dry spells. The white house above the water is the tower structure: inside are the bottom outlets, the machine rooms and a small hydroelectric plant. Water from the outlets runs away through a culvert beneath the body of the dam. High water is carried off by the spillway on the right bank. - **length of the dam at the crest:** 250 m - **greatest depth of the reservoir:** 7 m - **output of the small hydro plant:** 15 kW ![A surfaced path with a railing along the crest of the dam, with a footbridge on piers leading from it to the tower structure above the water](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0013.avif) A footpath with a railing runs along the crest of the dam. A footbridge leads from the crest to the tower structure. The era of company holidays ### Chalets for whole factories Under socialism Horní Bečva became the holiday base of industrial northern Moravia. **Tonak, Vítkovice and Autopal** had chalets here - and so did dozens of other enterprises that brought their staff out. **More than fifty large holiday centres** from that time still stand in the village, many of them almost unchanged. They go by different names now, but the retro look and fittings pull people in: guests come back out of nostalgia and show the chalets to their grandchildren. The chalet campsite at the upper end of the reservoir keeps something of that atmosphere too - and the shortest way to the beach leads from there. ![A view across the reservoir to the dam with its tower structure, campsite chalets among the trees in the foreground and a jetty by the grassy beach](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0995.avif) Today ### Summer by the water The dam still works above all as flood defence. For visitors, though, it is first of all a **natural swimming place**: a grassy beach with a gently shelving sandy entry, a jetty, a large children's playground, an outdoor gym and a public barbecue area. Anglers find something here as well. The reservoir belongs to the trout beat Bečva Rožnovská 2 - besides trout there are **carp and tench** in it, though only permit holders may fish. ![A wooden jetty with a lifebuoy and a ladder into the water, a grassy bank with benches and a covered swing seat behind it](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/prehrada-horni-becva/1280/DJI_0004.avif) Timeline ## From devastating floods to today's holidays 1. early 20th c. ### Floods on the Bečva Devastating floods give rise to plans: to confine the channels of the braided rivers and build a system of reservoirs - most of them also to supply the proposed Danube–Oder Canal. 2. 1912 ### Bystřička comes first The first dam in the Bečva basin is finished - Bystřička. It was built under Austria-Hungary, to plans older than those of the Czechoslovak state between the wars. 3. 1932 ### The ministry approves the design On 16 March the ministry of agriculture approves the detailed design by Stavební správa zemědělskotechnická v Prostřední Bečvě. 4. 1933 ### Construction begins First the road is moved from the valley floor onto the slope above the future water level. Then the dam starts to go up from local earth and stone. 5. 1944 ### The dam enters service The work is completed under the occupation; the dam goes into permanent operation in 1947. Of the dozens of dams planned for Wallachia between the wars, this is the only one built. 6. 2nd half of the 20th c. ### Chalets for whole factories Enterprises from northern Moravia build holiday centres for their staff at Horní Bečva. More than fifty large centres from that time still stand. 7. 2021 ### The lookouts above the quarry A circuit with three viewing cubes and a steel footbridge above the quarry face is created in the former quarry above the upper end of the reservoir. [Explore the lookouts ](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry) A walk on the spot ## From the dam to the lookouts above the quarry The dam and the lookouts above the quarry belong together - only a few hundred metres of walking separate them. Combine them in one short walk. [The lookouts above the quarry](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry) - Right next door · When you have had enough of the water: a circuit with three · viewing cubes · and a footbridge above the quarry face has been created in the former quarry at the upper end of the reservoir. Waymarked paths carry on from here to Kotlová and to the Karlovské lake. · the paths opened: 2021viewing cubes: 3circuit in the quarry: ~1 km · Explore the lookouts on foot · easy · fine with children 1. #### The dam start · you are here Walk along the crest of the dam to the footbridge of the **tower structure**. You will have the whole water surface laid out in front of you. 2. 1 #### Along the shore to the jetty the upper end of the reservoir The shore path brings you to the bay with the jetty, the beach and the children's playground - the centre of things in summer. 3. #### The lookouts above the quarry destination · circuit ~1 km The quarry is 150 m from the upper end of the reservoir. The circuit with three viewing cubes and a **footbridge above the quarry face** is manageable even for small children. Visit ## Plan your trip The dam is freely accessible all year. Swimming is at your own risk. ### Where exactly it is #### By the road to Bumbálka, 2.5 km beyond the centre of the village The reservoir lies on the upper course of the Rožnovská Bečva, south-east of the centre of Horní Bečva. You can see the dam with its tower structure straight from road I/35; the beach with the jetty is at the opposite, upper end of the reservoir. ##### Open in maps [Mapy.com](https://mapy.com/en/zakladni?x=18.3164&y=49.4224&z=16&source=coor&id=18.3164,49.4224) · [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=49.4224,18.3164) ##### Other places nearby [The lookouts above the quarry](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry) · [Kudlačena](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kudlacena) · [Šorštýn](https://zpusteven.cz/en/sorstyn) · [Benešky](https://zpusteven.cz/en/benesky) · [Kotlová and the settlement of Jezerné](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kotlova) · [The source of the Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pramen-becvy) · [Pod Juráškou](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pod-juraskou) · [Čarták](https://zpusteven.cz/en/cartak) Map of the area ### What to know before you go #### Swimming Freely accessible and free of charge, **at your own risk** – there is no lifeguard. In the bathing season the water quality is checked every two weeks by the [regional public health authority](https://www.khszlin.cz/koupani-ve-volne-prirode/vn-horni-becva/). #### Refreshments and toilets In season there are **stalls and a kiosk** by the beach, and the restaurants of the nearby holiday centres. Toilets are in those only - there are no public toilets by the beach. #### For families By the beach there is a large **children's playground**, an outdoor gym and a public barbecue area. #### Fishing The reservoir is part of the trout beat **Bečva Rožnovská 2 (473 002)**, and besides trout there are carp and tench in it. Only permit holders may fish. ### How to get here The dam lies right on the main route from Rožnov pod Radhoštěm to Bumbálka and Slovakia. #### By car on the I/35, car park by the quarry ##### From Rožnov pod Radhoštěm towards Bumbálka Road I/35 (E442) takes you through Horní Bečva; the dam is **2.5 km beyond the centre of the village** on the right. There is a free car park by the former quarry right next to the dam. #### By bus a stop by the reservoir ##### Horní Bečva, přehrada stop Get off at the **Horní Bečva, přehrada** stop right by the reservoir. Timetables change with the day and the season; check both your arrival and your return service in advance. [Find a connection (IDOS)](https://idos.cz/vlakyautobusymhdvse/spojeni/) ##### Seasonal cycle buses In the tourist season services carrying bicycles may run this way as well. Check what is currently on offer in the IDZK list of cycle buses. [IDZK cycle buses](https://www.idzk.cz/cyklobusy) #### On foot connecting paths ##### Round the water and beyond You can walk the crest of the dam and the shores; the circuit in the quarry is roughly a kilometre and small children manage it. Waymarked routes lead on to **Kotlová** and to the Karlovské lake. Na závěr ## Doplňující info a test znalostí ### Rychlá rekapitulace **When was the Horní Bečva dam built?** The ministry of agriculture approved the design on 16 March 1932, construction began in 1933, the dam entered service in 1944 and permanent operation in 1947. **Why was the dam built?** Because of the floods at the beginning of the 20th century. It was one of dozens of reservoirs planned in the Beskids between the wars - and the only one of them that was finished. **Can you swim in the reservoir?** Yes, it is an official bathing area - in season the water quality is checked roughly every 14 days by the KHS of the Zlín Region. **How large is the reservoir?** About 10 ha, with a maximum depth of around 7 m. **Can you fish at the dam?** Yes, the reservoir is part of the trout fishing beat Bečva Rožnovská 2, and carp and tench are caught in it as well. **Why are there so many old holiday chalets at Horní Bečva?** Under socialism more than fifty enterprises from northern Moravia built their own holiday centres here - many still stand almost unchanged and draw guests back out of nostalgia. Where next ## Connections along the Bečva The dam is only one chapter in the story of the Rožnovská Bečva. The neighbouring pages tell where the river rises and how people confined it. [Rožnovská Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovska-becva) - The braided river they confined · The river the dam was built for. What did it look like unconfined - the gravel channels and the regulation of the course through Rožnov? · Přejít na stránku → [The source of the Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pramen-becvy) - The start of the Bečva below Vysoká · The Rožnovská Bečva rises below Vysoká. The birth of the river, its name and its way to the Morava. · Přejít na stránku → [The lookouts above the quarry](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry) - Cubes and a footbridge above the quarry · A short way from the dam: a circuit through the former quarry with three viewing cubes and a footbridge above the quarry face. · Přejít na stránku → --- Source: [Horní Bečva dam: swimming, a walk and its history](https://zpusteven.cz/horni-becva-reservoir) - zPusteven.cz. When citing, please link to the page.