*The ‘Brdy Olympus’ education trail, starting at historic Jince: 18 km – 20 km*

• The Brdy region is a land of mysterious, deserted and densely forested hills. Forbidden to the public for decades as a military training zone, this Central Bohemia upland area is now becoming a popular walking and cycling area. At the edge of Brdy, the Hřebeny nature park stretches almost to the borders of Prague. Hřebeny’s most prominent peak is Plešivec (654m), sometimes known as the ‘Brdy Olympus’, possibly for its prominence and outstanding views from the summit.
• Another plausible reason for the name is that this is a legendary mountain, whose summit was occupied from the late Stone Age onwards. Around 1300BC, settlers from the Bronze Age Knovíz culture turned Plešivec into one of the largest hillforts in Central Bohemia. The remnants of the stone ramparts are still visible today, even though the site has been abandoned for more than two thousand years.
• Archaeological evidence suggests this was a important site for the manufacture of bronze weapons, armour and implements. Tin was sourced from the Bohemian Ore mountains to the north and copper from the Alpine regions. Hills, mountains and cliffs appear to have had a ritual or spiritual significance for the Knovíz culture, as did the bronze manufacturing process itself. Plešivec hillfort may therefore have had a significant regional function, a conclusion strengthened by the fact that the major archaeological finds to date include an unusually large number of hordes of goods, probably left as ritual offerings.
• Plešivec can be approached from all quarters of the compass. A nice 10 km route from the north starts from the village of Lhota and from the the east there are good trails starting from the village of Hostomice. However, perhaps the best route begins in Jince, which has a direct train connections with Prague. One advantage of starting in Jince is that this gives access to an excellent 18 km education trail, created in 2013, which highlights the fossils and metallurgical past of the region with the use of 16 information boards (only in Czech).
• The route (NS Z Jinec na Olymp Brd) initially circles around and to the top of Plešivec, including a visit to the Viklan quartzite boulder, which prior to the 19th century could be wobbled from side to side. Legend has it that by attempting to wobble the boulder one could summon rain or test one’s fidelity. Failure to move the boulder was apparently an indicator unfaithfulness. Trying to move the rock today is therefore not advisable!
• The route descends from Plešivec to cross the Litavka river and then heads uphill again towards the Brdy range proper and the gateway village of Křešín. The trails passes through the protected nature park of Na horach, which is a shallow soil shale area, known for its rare collection of warm soil loving plants (and is at its most colourful in spring).
• The route begins and ends in the historic town of Jince (birthplace of the famous of violinist Josef Slavík), which has been known for iron ore processing since at least the 14th century reign of Wenceslas IV. The ironworks were still operational in the 20th century. On the edge of town, just off the trail is the Barbora blast furnace, considered one of the best preserved late Baroque furnaces in Central Europe. It has recently been refurbished and is today a museum (there is also a snack bar).
• The full education trail itself is around 18 km long, but it is recommended to extend the route slightly by following the trail along the cliff top on Plešivec and it is a little way to the start from the station, if travelling by train, which extends the route to 20 km. There is just over 500m of height to ascend-descend, none of which is particularly steep, although some of of the trails are quite rocky. For refreshments, there is a seasonal snack bar in the village of Křešín, but the best option is to head for the excellent brewery restaurant in Jince.

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 Jince train station, join the RED trail heading to the Jince-most junction which is reached after 700m
• At the the Jince-most junction, join the BLUE trail for 400m and at the chateau turn right toward the Barbora blast furnace, following the educational trail (green/white occasional diagonal stripe markers)
• Remain following the nature trail until just below the summit. Leave the nature trail to join the circular route around the summit area and to the viewpoints (YELLOW, followed by RED trail)
• At the summit, rejoin the educational trail, initially following the GREEN hiking trail towards the Rejkovice train station, reached after 2.6 km
• At the Rejkovice continue on the educational trail as far as the village of Křešín, reached after 2.4 km
• In Křešín join the BLUE trail heading back to Jince, reached after 2.9 km