Alternative routes to the pilgrimage church on Anenský vrch (861m): 3 km to 20 km

• Since the end of the 17th century, a pilgrimage church has stood on the southern flank of Anenský vrch, a low mountain on the edge of Hrubý Jeseník mountain range. Below the hill lies the former gold-mining town of Andělská Hora (Angel Mountain). It is unclear why the hill became a pilgrimage site, but today’s church of St Anne (built in 1770) is a fine Baroque building and a good target for a walk in the lower Jeseníky hills.
• Three hiking trails converge at the hilltop, where there are excellent views over the Bruntál plain and back towards the higher Jeseníky mountains. The nicest approach to the church is through the long tree avenue that leads up from Andělská Hora. It is a 1.4 km walk to the top from the town centre, which is on a local bus route. There is a 3 km nature trail with six information boards (Czech language only) starting from the town centre, which ends at the hilltop (in the route shown in the map below this is used as the return route from the hilltop).
• The walk can be extended by taking one of two trails leading from the hilltop to the town of Vrbno pod Pradědem. The route shown in the map below takes the more indirect route using forest trails and returns back to Anenský vrch following the mountain road that runs below the ridge line, creating a 15 km extension. An alternative version of this walk would be to start in Vrbno and do the walk in reverse.
• If completing the full 20 km circuit, there is approximately 500m of height to ascend-descend, none of which is particularly steep. The trails are a mix of forest or meadow footpaths (mud and-or gravel) with the return path from Vrbno on an asphalt mountain road. There are various refreshment options in Vrbno and Andělská Hora, while on the route itself, try the U Hradilů restaurant on the road above Vrbno (map point 8).

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

• From the centre of Andělská Hora, join the REDE trail heading towards Vrbno
• After 1.4 km reach the hilltop after walking through the tree alley. Take a
• From the church, remain on the RED trail for a further 1.4 km and to reach the Anenská myslivna junction. Here, turn left onto the YELLOW trail
• Follow the YELLOW trail for 2.3 km to reach the Malá Hvězda junction. Here, turn right onto the BLUE trail heading towards Vrbno
• Remain on the BLUE trail for 6.1 km until reaching the Vrbno pod Pradědem – nám. junction. Here, turn right back onto the RED trail heading to the Anenská myslivna junction
• Stay on the RED trail for 5.4 km to return back to Anenský vrch. At the hilltop either return back down the tree alley route to the town centre or take the longer nature trail (green-white diagonal stripe markers) which diverts off the main trail halfway down the hill