The towns of Doksy and Staré Splavy, situated on the shore of Macha's Lake, 275 m above sea level, have altogether approximately 5000 inhabitants, and cover an area of 74.92 km2. Besides Staré Splavy, Doksy also comprises the following villages: Brehyne, Obora, Zbyny, Zdar, Kruh and Vojetin. The town is part of the district of Ceska Lipa, and belongs to the cross-border organisation of Euroregion NISA. Doksy and Staré Splavy are the best known and the most sought-after recreational centres in northern Bohemia. The origins of Doksy date back to the second half of the 13th century. The first written mention is from 1293 in a deed of King Vaclav II. Emperor Charles IV had a great influence on the development of the town, since he gave it important privileges, and in 1367 established Velký rybník (Big Pond), today Macha's Lake. For tourism, the town itself opened after the year 1928, when a beach was set up on the shore of Velký rybník. In the year 1955 Doksy obtained the statute of a recreational and bath town.

The dominant points of the town are the newly reconstructed square, with the Marian sculptural group from 17th century, and The Church of St. Bartholomew from the year 1638, containing a precious copy of the statuette of Virgin Mary of Montserrat, also called the Black Madonna. Below the square, there is an originally Renaissance castle, modified into today's shape in the 19th century. Nowadays it is used as an apprentice centre, and therefore closed to the public. The town of Staré Splavy, situated on the northern shore of the lake, became a part of Doksy in 1850 and has ever since contribute to the development of tourism in the region. Macha's Lake is much sought after, especially in the summer months when it offers many recreational possibilities to thousands of visitors on its four beaches. The most attractive possibilities are boating trips, a big water slide, beach volleyball and bungee jumping from a height of 50 m. Graphic sourced witht hanks from Infolbc.cz/images/macho.jpg

Wikipedia articles for Doksy

• Doksy
• Máchovo jezero
• Skalka u Doks
• Tachov (?eská Lípa District)
• Okna (?eská Lípa District)