Museum of the Horse Crossing

Further information:

Guard House No. 1 in Mánesova Street in České Budějovice is a national cultural monument. It offers visitors a museum exposition called Guard Houses and Railway Guards on the territory of the České Budějovice - Linec Horse Railway. This horse-drawn railway line was built between 1825 and 1832 between České Budějovice and Linz. Later, in 1836, it was extended to Gmunden. It was the oldest railway on the European mainland. Its primacy, however, does not lie in the use of rails for transport. The use of primitive wooden rails is attested, for example, in some mines in Germany and in England in the 17th century.

Guardhouse No. 1 was formerly part of the freight station area. It was not built until 1828.  The house contained 2 rooms with a kitchen and was intended for the guards of the station area. In 1977 the house was moved about 10 metres southwards due to the widening of the street and subsequently renovated. Nowadays, there is a permanent exhibition here, which not only describes the history and present of the guard houses, but also probes into the difficult life of the railway guards - people who were at the bottom rung of the hierarchy of the railway company.

Interesting facts:
On 15 December 1872, the last horse-drawn train left Urfahr (Linz) station for Lest. Forty years later, the history of the biggest railway project of its time came to an end. Only 22 of the original 53 houses have survived to the present day. Some of them are only ruins. Most of the remaining guard houses have been rebuilt, with only a few remaining in near original form.

• Jihočeské muzeum v Českých Budějovicích
  Mánesova 10
  České Budějovice
• 386 354 820
• www.muzeumcb.cz