Krystofovo Udoli

Krystofovo Udoli is a village strung for several kilometres along a narrow valley west of Liberec, with timber and half-timbered houses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the local Sudeten German building tradition, and a wooden belfry. The railway from Liberec crosses the valley on the Novina viaduct, a stone bridge of 1900 with fourteen arches, about two hundred metres long, which is the image the village is known by. In December the village does something unusual: households, schools and the local association put out nativity scenes - hundreds of them, homemade in wood, straw, paper, glass and whatever else, set in windows, gardens, sheds and along the road - and the whole valley becomes a walking route between them, which draws visitors from across the region. There is a small museum of nativity scenes.

History

The name means "Kryštof's valley" and probably comes from Kryštof of Donín, who owned the area and may have founded the village. It began as a charcoal and mining settlement in a side valley of the Lusatian Neisse; legend credits a 15th-century charcoal burner called Christophorus, but the area is known to have been unsettled in 1518. Ore mining began in the 16th century, and in the mid-16th century the area was sold to Nicholas II of Donín, who joined it to the Grabštejn estate. Kryštofovo Údolí and Novina are first mentioned in 1581, as Christofsgrund and Neuland, when Jindřich Berka of Dubá bought the estate, and a hammer mill is recorded; mining went on until about 1750, when poor yields stopped it. A textile factory was built below the village in 1826, the main road in 1852-1858, and the railway through the village in 1900, which needed a viaduct of 14 arches, 194 m long, and a tunnel 818 m long. Many residents worked in forestry or as craftsmen, or commuted to the factories of Liberec, since farming in the hills gave low yields. The present Czech name has been used since 1960 (Wikipedia, Kryštofovo Údolí).

What you'll find

• The Novina viaduct - fourteen stone arches, from 1900.
• Timber houses along a valley - the local building tradition over several kilometres.
• Hundreds of Christmas nativities - homemade and set out through the village in December.
• A nativity museum - the collection kept year-round.

When to go

December for the nativities; May to October otherwise. Half a day.

Practical notes

The nativity display is a December event only and the village is crowded and parking-limited then. Outside it the village is quiet with almost no services. The train runs a limited timetable.

Nearby

Liberec and the Jested tower are twelve kilometres east.

Key facts