When the film "The Chronicles of Narnia" was shot there, the actors were not allowed to climb to the top of the arch: these natural "gates" are too fragile!

Pravčická gate is a fantastic mountain formation in the Czech Switzerland nature park in the North of the Czech Republic, 17 km from the city of Děčín.

Czech Switzerland borders with Saxon Switzerland: the Czech-German border runs in this protected area along the river Elbe. But there are no borders for the rocks! There is only a fairyland with quaint sandstone mountains surrounded by dense protected forest. The unusual appearance of these places was created by nature thousands of years ago when today's valleys were under seawater. After the sea had retreated, rock towers, bridges, gates, and gorges rose from the sandy bottom. And over the centuries, the wind has "refined" the shape of the rocks, giving them a figure-like fairy-tale appearance.

Pravčická brána is considered the most beautiful natural formation in Czech Switzerland. This is a symbol of the entire region. The dimensions of the arch are respectful: the span from the bottom is 26.5 m, height-16 m, width-7-8 m, the upper platform of the gate-at a height of 21 m from the base of the arch. This is the largest natural stone gate in Europe.

Not only filmmakers often come there to shoot natural scenes in the forests of Czech Switzerland. The place is popular for outdoor recreation and weekend walks. The double name of the future nature park was given by two Swiss artists who worked in nearby Dresden at the Saxon court. They made trips from there through the nearby forests, which reminded them of their homeland.

You can get to Pravčická brána only on foot through forest trails from the town of Hřensko or the village Mezna. These paths were laid by vacationers in the 19th century. There is a fact that the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen was a guest of these beautiful places. Perhaps the forests and rocks inspired him to some fairy-tale story!