The Rock Theatre

The Rock Theatre’s name is no coincidence. The shallow valley, home to significant rock outcrops, forms a large arch when viewed from above – a natural amphitheatre with a horseshoe shape. The local rock outcrops are composed of fine-grained, lightly lithified sandstones of the Jizera Formation. The so-called Schwarzwald Gate is a geomorphological curiosity. Its name is derived from the extinct village of Schwarzwald (Černá Novina) which once stood nearby. The gate has an arched ceiling and horizontal bottom formed by by bedrock.

The Rock Theatre is a unique example of tubular forms of iron cementing – iron-cemented sandstones shaped like iron logs. The look like horizontally laid “tubes” with a several cm thick, concentrically built iron wall. These “iron logs” were eroded out of the surrounding very soft fine-grained sandstones due to the greater strength of the iron impregnation. Another similar formation formed about 100 m SSE of the gate rock.