*The Betonová hranice WWII fortification trail, starting at Suchý vrch: 12 km*

• The Betonová hranice (literally ‘concrete border’) is an education trail near the Czech/Polish border town of the Králíky in northeast Bohemia. The trail follows the line of the densest network in the country of pre-WWII border defenses. These include heavy bunkers and artillery fortresses. It is a ‘must see’ trail for anyone with even a passing interest in 20th century history.
• In 1934, the Czechoslovak government established a special army unit – the ROP – charged with establishing a series of border defenses, primarily to counter the growing threat of Nazi Germany. Over the next four years, ten thousand concrete pillboxes and nearly three hundred heavy bunkers were constructed near the German, Austrian and Hungarian border areas.
• The heaviest defenses, including state-of-the-art artillery fortresses, were built in northeast Bohemia along the (then) Czech-German Silesian border. These were designed to resist any attempt by German forces to split Czechoslovakia into two parts, allowing the sizeable and well equipped Czechoslovak army to defend the territory as a whole.
• Of course, the formidable defense system was never tested – at least not against invading German forces (elements were – ironically – used by the Nazis at the end of the war in the defense of Moravia against the Red Army). The Munich agreement of September 1938 ceded the German speaking Sudeten lands (in which most of the fortifications had been constructed) to the Nazi regime. The Germans promptly began using the freshly minted bunkers as training grounds for their own Special Forces. The quality of the armor on the bunkers was found to be so good it was later reused by the Germans in their own border defenses.
• After the Communist regime acquired power in 1948, the border defenses were again put to use. The southern and western defenses were re-equipped (and reinforced to withstand a nuclear blast), whilst those on the northern border (now facing ‘friendly’ Soviet-controlled Poland) were used as training grounds for Soviet forces. Walk around some of the concrete bunkers in this area to see the holes created by testing of Russian-made armaments.
• The densest network of fortifications in the norther border area was constructed around the border town of Králíky and the hills to the west of the town, which are the southernmost section of the Orlické hory (Eagle mountains). There are a number of important bunkers near Králíky itself the main fortifications run in a chain near the ridgeline. Most of these can seen by following the Betonová hranice trail, which is approximately 14 km long and begins in the town of Mladkov. Mladkov has regional bus and train connections. This is the option to take if travelling by public transport and/or wanting to to see all the fortifications.
• However, for those happy to focus on the main highlights of the trail, including the major bunkers and the Bouda artillery fortress (which is now a museum that includes access to the remarkable underground tunnels), then consider starting from the Suchý vrch car park. This shorter route, which is shown in the map below is a bit less strenuous and involves less climbing, but more importantly gives the opportunity to enjoy some excellent viewpoints on the journey to the fortification area.
• Suchý vrch itself is equipped with a viewing tower (which is paid and has an enclosed viewing area, so is nicer to visit the open air viewpoints just along the Bradlo ridge!) There is also a mountain hotel near the car park and the restaurant is surprisingly good. It is is worth a stop after taking the tour to the fortifications. Note there is also a self-service snack bar in the same building. The restaurant is on the second floor.
• Various circular routes can be created around the fortification area as there are two main marked hiking trails, with a number of linking footpaths between the two. The route shown below visits the high point on the ridge (Vysoký kámen, 843m) and then drops down to the lower marked path. It is 12 km long, with 330m of height to ascend/descend, none of which is challenging. The paths are mostly easy forest tracks or footpaths.

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

• Starting at the Suchý vrch car park, join the RED trail heading towards Tvrz Bouda. There are two viewpoints along the ridge within 500m of the car park
• Continue along the RED trail to reach the Bouda fortress (museum) after 2.5 km
• From Bouda, continue on the RED trail for a further 2 km to reach Vysoký kámen summit
• Continue after Vysoký kámen for 200m to the Pod Vysokým kamenem junction and there turn right onto the trail marked as a cross country ski track
• After 800m on this trail which descends gentlz through the forest, join the YELLOW trail at the Nad Kolotočem junction, heading in the direction of Pod Boudou
• After 2.7 km reach the Pod Boudou junction and there join the GREEN trail heading towards Odranec
• At the Odranec junction, rejoin the RED trail heading back towards Suchý vrch
• After 1.7 km reach the Pod Bradlem junction. Here, take the BLUE trail, which leads back to Suchý vrch after 1 km