Czechia – Moravia & Silesia: Quarries & Lakes

Moravia's inland diving centres on old quarries and reservoirs. In the north, the slate pits of Svobodné Heřmanice (36 m, free and open around the clock) and Černá Voda draw divers from Poland and Slovakia too. Around Znojmo, local clubs lease small quarries such as Hostěradice, where you borrow a key against a deposit. The Dalešice reservoir offers deep walls and the drowned piers of an old bridge, and the Šošůvka quarry is the only place in the Moravian Karst protected area where diving is allowed outside the reserves. Much of the information comes from Czech divers' own listings, so several sites are marked unverified.

Facts

• Diving rules outside nature reserves (Moravian Karst): In the Moravian Karst PLA diving outside reserves is permitted only in water bodies where swimming is also permitted; the Šošůvka quarry is the one practical option.
• Water temperature at depth: Moravian quarries are cold at depth: about 2–5 °C at Svobodné Heřmanice all year, 2–14 °C at Hostěradice, 3–9 °C at Černá Voda; drysuit recommended.
• Regional dive federation: Many Moravian quarry rules refer to the guidelines of the Svaz potápěčů Moravy a Slezska (Moravia and Silesia Diving Association); clubs such as Manta Znojmo are its branches.
• Cercarial dermatitis in Ostrava-area reservoirs: The regional hygiene station reports that swimmer's itch cannot be ruled out at Těrlicko reservoir and Vrbické lake; check current notices.
• Cave rescue: Cave Rescue Service of the Czech Speleological Society (SZS ČSS), a voluntary body founded 1982, part of the Integrated Rescue System, with Bohemian and Moravian units. In an emergency call 112. ČSS secretariat (not an emergency line): sekretariat@speleo.cz, +420 722 651 110.
• Hyperbaric chamber: Městská nemocnice Ostrava runs a Centre of Hyperbaric Medicine (new chamber from 2024; the hospital's main phone is 596 191 111 or 556 541 111, mnof@mnof.cz, Nemocniční 898/20a, Ostrava). Emergency availability of the chamber is not stated on the page: confirm by phone. A chamber at Nemocnice České Budějovice (opened 2020) is reported in a hospital press release (not fetched).

Season

• Best months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
• Acceptable: Mar, Apr, Nov
• Poor: Dec, Jan, Feb
• Water temperature: 2–22 °C

The surface warms in summer but the deep water stays cold all year (Svobodné Heřmanice 2–5 °C, Hostěradice 2–14 °C, Černá Voda 3–9 °C). Ice diving happens in winter, but it has also caused fatal accidents. Swimmer's itch can occur in summer on Ostrava-area lakes.

Dive sites (16)

South Moravia

• Brněnská přehrada – 0–22 m, intermediate
• Dalešická přehrada – pilíře (mill-race bridge piers) – 0–37 m, advanced
• Dalešická přehrada – Wilsonova skála – 0–44 m, advanced
• Lom Hostěradice – 0–14 m, beginner
• Lom Mašovice – 0–14 m, beginner
• Lom Šošůvka – 0–7 m, beginner
• Novomlýnské nádrže – Velká laguna Mušov – 0–4 m, beginner
• Vranovská přehrada (Vranov nad Dyjí) – 0–42 m, advanced

North Moravia & Silesia

• Hlučín – štěrkovna – 0–6 m, beginner
• Lom Svobodné Heřmanice (Čífr) – 0–36 m, advanced
• Slezská Harta (reservoir) – 0–62 m, advanced
• Slezská Harta – Karlovec (church ruins) – 0–20 m, intermediate
• Vápenná – Arcibiskupský lom – 0–14 m, beginner

Central Moravia

• Lom Výkleky – 0–10 m, beginner
• Lom Černá Voda – Rampa – 0–21 m, intermediate
• Tovačov – Annenské jezero – 0–16 m, beginner

Operators (6)

• Klub potápěčů Manta Znojmo – club, Pálavská 323, 669 02 Suchohrdly
• Spolek potápěčů ALKYON, z.s. – club, Dvorská 1910/19, 678 01 Blansko (operations site: Blanenská 86, 679 02 Rájec-Jestřebí)
• Potápěčský klub ARGUS POSEIDON Třebíč – club, Poušov 773, 674 01 Třebíč
• Potápění Olomouc (Devil Diving Club) – dive centre, U stadionu 8, 779 00 Olomouc
• Cool Divers Ostrava – dive centre, Třebovická 41, Ostrava
• KSP Krnov (Svobodné Heřmanice filling station) – club, Sokolovská 236, Krnov

Moravian quarries are cold at depth (2–5 °C all year at Svobodné Heřmanice) and their altitude matters for decompression: divers driving on over the Červenohorské sedlo pass have been bent. Reservoirs may have zoned or restricted access. Check current rules with the club or base before diving. Positions are approximate unless marked otherwise.