Dalesice

The Dalesice reservoir was built between 1970 and 1978 on the Jihlava as the upper basin of a pumped-storage station, and it flooded a rocky wooded gorge, so the shores are steep, the water is deep and cold and the setting is more dramatic than most Czech reservoirs; boat cruises run from Kramolin in season and the level fluctuates with the pumping cycle. In the village above stands the brewery, founded in 1596, which is where Jiri Menzel filmed Postriziny in 1980 - Cutting It Short, from Bohumil Hrabal's novel about his mother and the brewery at Nymburk, one of the best-loved Czech films - and the buildings, the malthouse and the yard are recognisable from it. The brewery works again after a long closure and brews unpasteurised beer, with a restaurant and a museum. The Dukovany nuclear plant is a few kilometres away and shares the water system.

What you actually see

• A flooded rocky gorge - steep shores and deep cold water on the Jihlava.
• A brewery of 1596 - working again, brewing unpasteurised beer.
• The Postriziny locations - the malthouse and yard from Menzel's 1980 film.
• Boat cruises from Kramolin - running on the reservoir in season.

When to go

May to September. A day.

Honest expectations

The water level moves with the pumping cycle, sometimes by metres, which affects swimming and mooring. Cruises are seasonal. The brewery tour needs booking. The nuclear plant is visible from parts of the shore.

Nearby

Mohelno serpentine steppe is downstream; Trebic is north.