Leštinka: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

At a depth of 13 metres, the Leštinka Quarry is home to an underwater open-air museum with wooden buildings, rails, pickaxes and mine carts.

Landscape

Leštinka lies in the hilly peripheral area of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands between Skuteč and Vrbatův Kostelec. The lower part of the village stretches through a gorge along the right bank of the Žejbro stream.

A system of disused quarries is located on Horka Hill. These include Andrůzův lom, Zvěřinov, Kaňon, Leštinka II – Ekhardka, Holubák and Družstvo; quarrying ended at the end of the last century. In the adjacent Dusaveci Forest lies the artificial Drápka Cave, carved into a block of sandstone.

Leštinka Quarry has a terraced underwater profile and is up to approximately 26 metres deep.

Water and Diving

Public swimming is not permitted at Divepark Leštinka. Access to the water is via a spacious jetty that is also suitable for larger groups of divers. Leštinka Quarry has training platforms for diver training at depths of 3, 6 and 13 metres.

Both complete beginners and experienced divers can dive at Divepark Leštinka. Try dives are supervised by an experienced certified diving instructor who explains the procedure and helps with putting on the equipment. A diving school has been established in the “Družstvo” quarry.

The former flooded quarries scattered around Leštinka serve as popular swimming spots. In winter, ice diving is possible at Leštinka if the water surface freezes over. For family recreation, Leštinka Quarry offers a pirate ship for children, a sand play area, a swing and a climbing frame.

The quarry area may only be visited with the owners’ consent and in compliance with the safety and organisational-technical regulations.

History

In the first half of the 20th century, Leštinka was an important centre of granite quarrying. At that time, 400 to 500 stonemasons worked in the surrounding quarries. A newly opened exhibition at the Městské muzeum Skuteč documents the history of quarrying and stone processing associated with Leštinka.

The surviving traces of Leštinka’s historic quarry railway include a viaduct and a developed and overgrown railway branch line from the “Mikšov” quarry to Žďárec u Skutče.

On the upper village square in Leštinka stands an iron cross with Christ, erected in 1833. The bell from Leštinka’s wooden belfry, dating from 1832, has been incorporated into the roof of the fire station.

Near Leštinka, above the left bank of the Žejbro stream, are the remains of the medieval Cejřov small castle from the 12th and 13th centuries. A high, well-preserved circular rampart with a ditch has survived there.

Getting Around

A signposted local cycling route runs through the northern part of Leštinka.

Other places: Tuněchody, Vejvanovice, Lany, Bousov, Heřmanův Městec, Pokřikov, Tisovec, České Lhotice

For the broader travel overview: Chrudim District.