One of the most important monuments dating from the period when mining activity flourished in the area of the Ore Mountains in the district of Horní Blatná is the unique, Horní Blatná water canal, built in the year 1540, and originally referred to by its German name, Erbwassergraben.

The Horní Blatná water canal was of considerable economic significance in its time. It provided water to a large part of the mining facilities, paddy fields, and water mills, and ensured a sufficient supply of water for extinguishing fires. Its construction led to the revival of mining activity, particularly in a number of surrounding hilly areas, where dozens of new mines were opened up. Directly following the completion of its construction, twelve new stamp mills and a number of smelting works were built.

The floodwaters that inundated the cellars, first floors, courtyards and environs of the buildings in the city of Terezín in August of this year have almost without exception "returned". The floors and walls are for the most part saturated with water, while the owners and inhabitants of the buildings have been undertaking essential structural renovations and preparing them for serious or massive reconstruction work. This therefore has become a time of decision making in terms of what to prepare now and how, and what can wait until later. Most repair work to the masonry (and its surfaces), floors, arches, and surrounding terrain should not however come into conflict with essential repairs that will be carried out in the future. They should be considered to be a part of those repairs, as the part that is just being carried out somewhat earlier.

A fundamental question that relates to choosing the next step is whether the damage to the masonry and the related constructions existed already prior to the floods, or whether they are in fact new. In the large majority of cases the dampened masonry in the buildings was expanded by the water and settled on a level somewhat higher than they had been before the flood. Before deciding what measures to take to counter the moisture levels in the masonry it is necessary to understand the way in which the water behaves in each individual building and its individual parts, and in relation to differences in terrain, the building's function, and elements of construction.

In the Southwest corridor of Prague, for over a year work has been under way on one of the most important new Czech tramline constructions. The new 3.5 km line will connect the existing Prague tram network with the large residential district of Barrandov and enable more comfortable, safer, and faster transportation for the inhabitants of the district to the downtown centre and back.

The driving motivation behind the planned construction has been, in addition to its challenging technical design, primarily the environmental and public protection that it offers, protecting people from the negative impacts of transportation and providing them with a level of quality in transportation services that rivals the most modern trends. The striking architectural shape of the route, and especially the tram stops, has made the line one of the future outstanding attractions on the territory served by the public transit.

The article in the previous issue of of Stavební listy acquainted readers with the structural evolution of the Karlštejn Castle, peaking with the grand restoration work carried out at the end of the 19th century, which gave the Castle its present appearance. The article also described, and used examples to illustrate, the evolution of methodological approaches to the renewal of historic buildings, from the time of the restoration up until the present. In this issue readers are presented with an account of a period which in this respect most people are less familiar with - the 20th century. The article introduces examples of structural renovation work that stand out for particular reasons and are usually viewed as typical for their time. Some of these renovations were later removed, and therefore any illustrative materials of the work are unique. A more detailed view is devoted to one building of more significant historical status - the cellar area of the Imperial Palace and the gradual structural modifications that have been made to it. The next article of this series will take a look at the largest undertakings - both in terms of extent and technical complexity - in this kind of construction: the renovation of the Great Tower, the roof of the Marian Tower, and the Imperial Palace.