An easy (2 km) walk around the late Gothic water castle of Švihov

The castle of Švihov is situated just off the main road between Plzeň and Klatovy in west Bohemia. It is one of the most picturesque ‘water castles’ (ie moated castles) in Bohemia. The castle was remodeled in a late Gothic, early Renaissance style at the end of the 15th century by the house of Rýzmberk and survived in that form to this date, despite an order to demolish the castle by Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand III after the Thirty Years War. The castle was unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedish army (twice) during the 17th century Thirty Years War.
In the following centuries the castle was mostly used as a farmstead while in the ownership of the Czernín family, until its nationalization in 1945. The castle is usually open for (well regarded) tours from April to end of October. The castle was used as the setting for the famous Czech Cinderella film, Tři oříšky pro Popleku.
There are excellent walking options in the hills around Švihov (see the longer walk here) and several of the paths include information panels summarizing the local history and natural environment. However, a short stroll around the area of the castle itself, particularly to see how the water system flows from the nearby river Úhlava, is definitely worthwhile.
The suggested circuit is just less than 2 km long, is completely flat and can be undertaken with a stroller. There are refreshment options in the village center.

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 in the village center (paid parking available and buses from Klatovy or Plzeň), follow the green-white diagonal stripes nature trail markers towards the castle
After visiting the castle itself, tour the immediate area by following the nature trail along the canal
After 500m cross the footbridge, still following the nature trail and return back to the castle following the path around the walls, marked with YELLOW hiking trail markers