Back Up Top

hidden europe 51

Tale of a Tupolev

by hidden europe

Picture above: Tupolev 104 OK-LDC in the Czech border village of Petrovice (photo © hidden europe).

Summary

Shoppers in the Czech border village of Petrovice are inclined to board a Tupolev 104 airplane when they want a coffee or a snack. Find out why this 60-year-old jet aircraft is a good spot to relax.
hidden europe 51 / Snippet  / By hidden europe

Sixty years after she rolled off the Tupolev production line, OK-LDC nowadays does sterling service as a border marker and restaurant by the side of the old post road from Dresden to Prague. Far from any airdrome, tucked away in the hills which separate Saxony from Bohemia, this splendid piece of aviation history looks strangely out of place in the Czech village of Petrovice, just a few hundred metres from the border with Germany.

This is just an excerpt. The full text of this article is not yet available to members with online access to hidden europe. Of course you can read the full article in the print edition of hidden europe 51.
Blog post: 4 May 2025
Related blog post

What’s in a name? From Eryri to Everest

The names of places and topographical features do not appear by accident. Examine a placename and there is often a good story about its origins and meaning. Paul Scraton takes to the Welsh hills to explore this theme.

Read now →
hidden europe 33: Feature
Related articleFull text online

In search of a new role: the port city of Szczecin

by Nicky Gardner
Feature

The shipyards in Szczecin once built some the world's finest and fastest passenger liners. But today the cranes are silent, and the city of Szczecin is struggling to define its role in modern Poland. The Baltic port city is a gritty place, and all the more interesting for that.

Read now →
hidden europe 63: Faith
Related articleFull text online

A Silesian Jerusalem: visiting the calvary at Krzeszów

by Nicky Gardner
Faith

Not far from the Czech border, in the southernmost part of Polish Silesia, lies the monastery of Krzeszów (formerly known by its German name of Grüssau). It was to this quiet spot that manuscripts and books from Berlin were sent for safe keeping in the Second World War. These days, pilgrims make their way to the monastery as a place of prayer.

Read now →