Hiking Central Bohemia Central Bohemia Central Bohemia Central Bohemia Moravian Karst Moravian Karst Moravian Karst Moravian Karst North Bohemia North Bohemia North Bohemia North Bohemia Vysočina Vysočina Vysočina Vysočina Central Bohemia Moravian Karst North Bohemia Vysočina From Hlinsko to Trhová Kamenice and back through the Veselý Kopec open air museum Hlinsko is famous for its playful carnival processions and we will also explore its surroundings, which are just as interesting. But let’s stay in the town a bit longer – you can find the oldest museum in Bohemia there (est. 1784) and a heritage site reserve with timbered houses called Betlém. There is also an exposition of carnival masks and processions. Enter Trhová Kamenice through open countryside where writer K. V. Rais used to live: there is a monument dedicated to his stay there beside the Church of St. Philip and Jacob. An interesting rarity is the functional hammer mill in Svobodné Hamry, which has been in operation since the 15th century! The local timbered pub, 400 years old, is also beautiful. This village is used in the short stories by K. V. Rais, and great landscapers Franta Kaván and Gustav Macoun used to work there. Veselý Kopec is an amazing open air museum, which was created by transferring valuable buildings from Českomoravská vysočina for 40 years. In Vítanov, there is a memorial plaque to the painter Kaván, who lived there a hundred years ago. The marked trail will take us to the destination in Hlinsko. From Vlašim to Blaník Vlašim, the heart of this region, is the starting point of the hike, during which you will see the Blaník mountain mass from the very beginning. Before the hike, you can visit the Podblanicko Museum in the Renaissance chateau, as well as the adjacent landscape park. In Kondrac, you should definitely visit the local rarity: the towers of the Romanesque Church of St. Bartholomew, which have a very unusual cylindrical shape. There is also a parish museum in the former rectory and morgue, and you can also visit the nearby Blaník Nature House and the geological exposition of regional rocks. There is an educational trail called “With a Knight to Blaník” going to the peak of Velký Blaník (638 m a.s.l.), known for the legend about the knights of Blaník, where there is a lookout tower shaped as a Hussite keep. The trail goes through Slepičí skála where one of the foundation stones of the National Theatre in Prague comes from. When looking at the Baroque chateau in Louňovice pod Blaníkem, you will learn that there used to be a Premonstratensian cloister there, from which only the Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary remains. Follow the green marks to get to the train stop at Domašín, where your trip through the Czech countryside ends. From Vlašim to Blaník Vlašim, the heart of this region, is the starting point of the hike, during which you will see the Blaník mountain mass from the very beginning. Before the hike, you can visit the Podblanicko Museum in the Renaissance chateau, as well as the adjacent landscape park. In Kondrac, you should definitely visit the local rarity: the towers of the Romanesque Church of St. Bartholomew, which have a very unusual cylindrical shape. There is also a parish museum in the former rectory and morgue, and you can also visit the nearby Blaník Nature House and the geological exposition of regional rocks. There is an educational trail called “With a Knight to Blaník” going to the peak of Velký Blaník (638 m a.s.l.), known for the legend about the knights of Blaník, where there is a lookout tower shaped as a Hussite keep. The trail goes through Slepičí skála where one of the foundation stones of the National Theatre in Prague comes from. When looking at the Baroque chateau in Louňovice pod Blaníkem, you will learn that there used to be a Premonstratensian cloister there, from which only the Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary remains. Follow the green marks to get to the train stop at Domašín, where your trip through the Czech countryside ends. Past the accessible caves of the Moravian Karst Moravian Karst: hundreds of caves, not all accessible, but those that are open to the public are definitely worth seeing. We will set off to see some of them through the karst canyon called Pustý žleb. One of the most impressive caves is Punkevní: the tour includes an exciting cruise on the underground river of Punkva and a visit to the bottom of the Macocha Abyss. You will pass the Amateur Cave, discovered in 1969, and walk to the Sloupskošošůvská Cave, known since the 17th century. The Sloupský Brook falls under the ground by the entrance to the cave. It is full of ancient history: the most important Neanderthal settlement in the country. Before going down to the Balcarka Cave, which is a large underground space that was inhabited as early as in the Stone Age, we will walk past a Dutch windmill built in 1865 after Ostrov u Macochy. The Macocha Abyss is the highlight of the trip: you can look down from the Top or Bottom Bridge. From the abyss, we will hike down past the Kateřinská Cave with a huge dome, and Skalní Mlýn, the end of our karst wandering, will be in sight.