Technické památky jižních Čech
Braking Stone in Kaplice
The braking stone, also known as a warning stone (in German: Einhemstelle), was the stony four-sided pillar with a picture of the handle of the horse-drawn coach brake, which was used to mark the place where a coach driver had to start braking his coach not to bump into another horse carriage. Braking stones were also used on the horsecar railway between České Budějovice and Linz, Austria. Braking stones still stand to the left of the road since the carriages were driven on the left in our territory till 1939. The pillar was frequently painted in white and the brake relief was black. There used to be many names for the shear brake in Czech, such as čuba, šupka (from the German schubben), bota, babka, korýtko, koloběh, zarážka, korýtek. Braking stones rank among the oldest traffic signs. We do not exactly know from when the braking stones were used in the Czech territory, however, they are supposed to be used from the first half of the 19th century. The word “šupka” was already referred to in the Maria Theresa’s Patent on Roads in the Empire from 1778. Although they were a relatively frequent traffic sign, only a few of these stones have preserved in the Czech Republic. A few well-preserved stones can be found in Hodkovice nad Mohelkou, Kaplice, Mirotice, Nažidla, Netřebice, Orlík nad Vltavou, Petrovice, Radostín, Radčice, Rožmberk and Suchdol.
