From Bautzen to Ralsko: a report from a joint photo excursion

On Saturday, 9 May, we organised the previously announced joint Czech-German photography excursion within the InterBridge project, bringing together photographers from Bautzen and Liberec. And because InterBridge is not only about conferences, workshops and exhibitions, but above all about people and shared experiences, this type of activity was something we had wanted to organise for quite some time.

Early in the morning, we set off by minibus from Liberec to Bautzen, where seven members of the photography club Fotofreunde Bautzen joined us. On the Czech side, participants included photographers from the University of the Third Age at TUL, who study creative photography as part of their programme. So these were definitely not random “tourists with mobile phones”, but people who take photography seriously.

Our first stop was the Nová Perla Gallery in Kyjov near Krásná Lípa. The former thread factory is gradually being transformed into a cultural and community centre in the middle of nature. Today, the site hosts exhibitions, workshops, artist residencies and various cultural events, and also includes a café and accommodation facilities. The entire complex has a unique atmosphere – somewhere between industrial history, artistic experimentation and the slightly chaotic poetry of old factories. During our visit, a German group was staying there, working with textiles and creating large woven objects and carpets from old fabrics and ropes. For photographers, it was an ideal environment: structures, materials, details, light and atmosphere everywhere.

And yes – the local sandwiches prepared for the journey were excellent. That simply has to be mentioned.

After lunch, we continued to the former military area of Ralsko – specifically the Ploužnice district. Here, the excursion shifted from art and industrial aesthetics to what photographers call “urbex” – exploring and photographing abandoned or decaying places.

Abandoned apartment blocks once used by the Soviet army, remnants of infrastructure, crumbling concrete structures overgrown with vegetation, the former military airport and the surrounding landscape created a strong contrast to the morning gallery visit. Our guide was architect Helena Hlávková, who led the group not only through Ploužnice itself, but also around the former airfield and the remains of the railway bridge over the Ploučnice River. Her expert commentary added another layer to the experience – suddenly these were no longer just “ruined buildings”, but a landscape carrying traces of several historical periods.

Throughout the day, interpretation was provided by Mr. Vitvar, who also participated as a photographer himself.

How successful the excursion was from an artistic point of view remains to be seen. We are currently preparing an online platform where participants will be able to upload their best photographs from the trip. The photographers will then evaluate each other’s work, and the highest-rated images are planned to be exhibited during the InterBridge exhibition in Kamenický Šenov this November. A small electronic publication should also emerge from the project.

And perhaps that is the most interesting part of all: photographs from places where past and present, Czech and German history, technology, landscape and human stories all intersect. These are exactly the kinds of bridges we aim to create within InterBridge.

Hana Křížová