*In the footsteps of Alphonse Mucha (I) – the nature trails of Moravský Krumlov: 4 km to 14 km*

• Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) is arguably the Czech Republic’s most famous artist. His most important work is considered to be the twenty monumental canvases which collectively became known as the Slavic Epic. They detail important moments from the history of the Slavic peoples (at least from Mucha’s perspective). Mucha gifted the canvases to Prague in 1928, on condition that a purpose-built location be created for their display.
• The display location has been a source of controversary, apparently for decades. The result being that that the canvases have spent the majority of their life on display in the Moravský Krumlov chateau, just a few kilometers from Mucha’s birthplace in the South Moravian town of Ivančice. At least until 2026 it is understood the canvases will remain there…which is great news for visitors to this perhaps less well-known part of Moravia.
• Moravský Krumlov does not quite have the same character or appeal as its Bohemian namesake (the UNESCO listed Český Krumlov) but at least that means it is much quieter (despite the presence of the famous paintings). The huge Renaissance chateau (currently being slowly reconstructed) and adjoining park area are worth a look around but perhaps the most striking monument is the impressive Baroque pilgrimage church of St Florian which looms over the town from a crag overlooking a horseshoe bend of the Rokytná river.
• The town has created a series of nature trails that link together for a total length of 14 km. The longer route follows an attractive section of the Rokytná river, but for a shorter stroll including a visit to the St. Florian chapel and finishing at the chateau, consider the route shown in the map below.
• This is a 5 km loop on easy footpaths but note that the ascent to the church is quite steep. There is a total of 140m to ascend-descend on the circuit. For refreshments, try the attractive Zámecké café on the opposite side of the road from the chateau entrance (map point 6).

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Moravský Krumlov has good regional bus connections to-from its bus station which is 400m from the town center (following the YELLOW trail). There are also parking options in the centre
• From the main square, join the RED trail heading in the direction of the train station. St Florian church is reached after 1.1 km
• Pick up the nature trail at the chapel. The trail is marked with classic nature trail markers (green-white diagonal stripes)
• Three loops are marked from this point, the shortest of which is shown in the map below. This follows the ridgeline above the river and circles back to the chateau. For longer options these are best plotted using the map.cz application