Technické památky jižních Čech
Čapek´s Bridge in Doudleby
The village of Doudleby has always suffered from torrential rains bringing a lot of water which prevented the farmers´ carriages from wading through the water to get to the opposite bank. All peasants from Doudleby had their fields across the river and the only connection between Doudleby and Straňany then was a wooden footbridge supported by three masonry piers, located at the place of the today’s bridge. When the high water or the ice blocks floating in the river in the springtime carried the footbridge away, no crossing was possible. The construction of the bridge required a lot of money, therefore the “bridge association” was established in 1905 to unite most residents of Doudleby and Straňany who paid regular financial contributions for building the bridge across the Malše River. The association was headed by František Miroslav Čapek from České Budějovice and his deputy was Josef Burda from Doudleby, house indication No. 10. Thanks to his influence, F. M. Čapek succeeded in obtaining the regional and financial support for the bridge construction. The construction contract was awarded to the Jindřich Bubl´s company and started on 20 March 1928. On 25 August 1929, a big event of opening the new bridge was held in Doudleby. The Čapek´s bridge was named after F. M. Čapek who was instrumental in building the bridge. As an eternal reminder, a bronze memorial tablet was attached to the bridge.
