Losenice

Losenice is a small nature reserve located south of the village of Červená, in the Kašperské Hory municipal area, Klatovy District, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic. The site sits right on the boundary between the Šumava Protected Landscape Area and Šumava National Park, at an elevation of 725 to 756 metres above sea level.

What does the Losenice reserve protect?

The reserve covers a compact stretch of roughly 2.55 to 2.7 hectares along the valley of the Losenice River. Its main conservation purpose is to safeguard a well-preserved, natural riverbed together with the rare plant communities growing in its immediate surroundings. An unregulated, naturally meandering watercourse is increasingly rare in a part of the Šumava mountains that has long been shaped by forestry and water management, which is exactly what makes this stretch of the Losenice valuable.

Losenice was declared a protected area on 1 July 1998. It falls under the Czech Nature and Landscape Protection Agency (AOPK ČR) and is administered in practice by the Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape Area Administration. It is classified under IUCN Category IV, a designation for areas managed primarily to protect specific species or habitats rather than for strict, hands-off conservation.

What lies around the reserve?

To the north lies a larger neighbouring reserve, Losenice II, declared a decade later in 2008. Together, the two reserves protect different sections of the same river valley, forming a connected conservation corridor along the Losenice watercourse. The river itself belongs to the wider network of Šumava streams and rivers — a mountain region known for its well-preserved river valleys, where relict pine and pine-birch woodlands grow on rocky outcrops and boulder fields, a habitat type most typical of the central part of the range.

Why does the Losenice reserve matter?

Losenice is a good example of the many small but ecologically significant protected sites scattered across the Šumava Protected Landscape Area. Unlike the large, well-known tracts of Šumava National Park that draw most visitors, this reserve serves primarily a protective function: it preserves a fragment of river landscape close to its natural state, without the channel regulation that has altered many comparable watercourses in the region. For anyone exploring the area around Kašperské Hory, it offers a reference point for what a Šumava river valley looked like before forestry and water management reshaped most similar stretches.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Losenice reserve located? South of the village of Červená, within the Kašperské Hory municipal area, on the border between the Šumava Protected Landscape Area and Šumava National Park, at 725–756 metres above sea level.

How large is the reserve? It covers a small area of about 2.55 to 2.7 hectares along the Losenice river valley.

When was the reserve established? On 1 July 1998; a larger neighbouring reserve, Losenice II, was established in 2008.

What is specifically protected here? The natural, unaltered channel of the Losenice River and the rare plant communities found around it.

Who manages the reserve? The Czech Nature and Landscape Protection Agency (AOPK ČR), together with the Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape Area Administration.