Boy Scratches Inscription on Rock Near Pravčická Brána — Parents Fined 10,000 Crowns

At the viewing platform above Pravčická brána in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, a teenager scratched an inscription into the sandstone rock. The incident was caught on video by another visitor, who sent the footage to park rangers — after which the park administration imposed the maximum on-the-spot fine of 10,000 crowns on the family.

The park administration posted the video of the incident on social media and urged visitors to let the "stories" of Bohemian Switzerland be written not by tourists, but by wind, water, and time. "In this particular case, which was more a case of schoolboy carelessness than malice, someone scratched the rock at the viewing platform above Pravčická brána, and the culprit walked away from the outing with the highest fine our rangers are authorized to issue on the spot," the park administration said.

On-the-spot fine versus court proceedings

Tomáš Salov, spokesperson for the park administration, explained that 10,000 crowns is the upper limit of the penalty that can be imposed directly at the scene of the offense. According to him, this method is chosen deliberately rather than referring the case to administrative proceedings. "With foreign tourists, there can be complications with delivering documents. And under administrative proceedings, the upper limit of the fine in especially serious cases would be one hundred thousand crowns," he clarified.

Scratching on rocks — an old habit among vandals

According to the park representative, the urge to leave an inscription on a rock is far from new: similar "autographs" and inscriptions have appeared on the rocks since as far back as the 19th century. However, Salov stressed, the long history of this habit does not make it acceptable today.

The park administration reminded followers on social media that the sandstone of the viewing platforms and hiking trails is not a page in a guestbook, but part of the natural landscape. "Every scratch remains in nature for a very long time," the environmentalists warned.

Salov added that modern inscriptions are usually of no value whatsoever and simply damage the rock. He noted that there have been cases where someone carving their initials accidentally damaged an ichnofossil — an imprint left by an ancient Mesozoic-era animal — without even realizing it existed. "Unfortunately, we're familiar with this. Such cases are hard to prove — this time it helped that another visitor filmed the incident and sent it to the park rangers," the park representative concluded.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz