Staré Splavy

Staré Splavy is a village and part of Doksy in the Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region oid the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. It is a recreation centre and a former spa resort, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Mácha. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was one of the famous holiday destinations in the whole of Austria-Hungary.

Tourism

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was one of the most famous holiday destinations in the whole of Austria-Hungary. Even during the First Czechoslovak Republic, Staré Splavy was a popular recreational place, especially for well-off Jewish clientele from Prague, Liberec and even places as distant as Berlin or Vienna. At the beginning of the 20th century, many built their summer homes here, mostly in the style of Art Nouveau or functionalism.
The place was then often dubbed "The Bohemian Lido". Because the post-war communist regime made the entire area one of the centres of socialist-style recreation in all of Czechoslovakia, sometimes it is today referred to as "Ibiza for the poor". There was relatively high density of Jewish families in the vicinity, who either are post-WWII natives here or moved here from Prague and other big cities since the 1990s.
Among the notable people associated with the village is Franz Kafka, who has even dedicated one of his novels to the place, titled "The Synagogue of Thammühl".