Benátky nad Jizerou and the ruins of Dražice castle – 2 km to 7 km walks

• Anyone who drives regularly along the D10 highway that runs northwards from Prague towards Mladá Boleslav has probably noticed the small town perched on the low hill to the west of the highway, which is marked by a large Baroque chateau or monastery building, and wondered if it was worth exploring. The town is Benátky nad Jizerou, and it is definitely worth a visit.
• Just a few kilometers further along the motorway, eagle-eyed passengers may also have spotted the ruins of a medieval tower appearing above the trees that line the Jizera river. This is the abandoned castle of Dražice. A scenic path along the Jizera connects the two sites, which can be combined in an easy walk of up to 7km.
• In medieval times Benátky was actually owned by the lords of Dražice, who controlled the area from their 13th century fortress just along the river. In the 14th century the original settlement (Staré Benátky) was moved from the east bank of the river to the hill on the western side and a fortified monastery created on the hilltop. It was only in the early 16th century that Dražice was abandoned and a new representative chateau built at Benátky. Perhaps the chateau’s most famous resident was the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe , for whom an observatory was constructed by Emperor Rudolf II at the very end of the 16th century.
• Today, Benátky chateau houses the town museum and has a variety of interesting and interactive displays, for all ages. The chateau garden and park area below the hill has been restored and should be included in any walk around the small town.
• The journey along the tranquil Jezera river to reach the Dražice ruins is 2.5 km long and has a couple of narrow sections so is probably not suitable for walkers with strollers. The walk around the chateau and park area is fine with a stroller. The ruins at Dražice are quite overgrown, but still worth exploring. A visit in wintertime might make scrambling around the ruins easier.
• The easiest way to visit Benátky is probably by car, although there are regular bus connections from Mladá Boleslav. There is free parking in the attractive main square – Husovo náměstí – which is lined with late Baroque buildings. At the eastern corner of the square is the excellent la hlína café and restaurant, which is worth a visit.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• Start the walk in the main square of Husovo náměstí, located at the top of the hill close to the the chateau
• Head to the western end of the the square to enter the chateau garden area. Take a stroll around the well maintained garden, with fountains and views over the vineyard on the hillslope
• Then visiting the chateau courtyard – where the museum entrances are
• To tour around the chateau park take the entrance on the northwest corner of the garden, close to the info center building
• Various paths interlace the park, but take the bottom path- which is also a cycle route marked as the Greenway Jizera – to circle around the town and reenter the square from the eastern side
• To visit the Dražice ruins, take the RED hiking trail from the square area, which descends from the hill and then follows the river to below the castle ruins
• There is a marked 350m diversion path that leads along the public road up the hill to visit the ruins (a footbridge crosses the road to reach the ruin area). Return back the came way to Benátky