Exploring the Celtic landscape around Mšecké Žehrovice – a 13km tour

• As WWII raged in Europe, a small team of archaeologists were investigating a presumed Celtic farmstead near the village of Mšecké Žehrovice. In a pit at the corner of the rectangular enclosed site they found four pieces of sculpted Cretaceous limestone. When pieced together these fragments revealed a remarkable Celtic heroic figure. The Mšecké Žehrovice head is now one of the most famous and photographed Celtic relics in Europe. The head is now housed in Prague’s National Museum, but the field in which it was found in 1943 lies directly on a marked hiking trail from the town of Nové Strašecí.
• The whole area around Mšecké Žehrovice seems to have been an important industrial and agricultural complex in the the late Iron Age – around 200 BC. The farmstead in which the famous head was located was probably occupied by a member of the local elite, possibly belonging the famous Celtic Boii tribe, from which the name Bohemia is derived.
• A walk in this attractive forest and pond landscape – which is part of the large protected nature park of Džbán – can be constructed with a start in the old medieval town of Nové Strašecí, which can be reached by regular bus from Zličín (which is on the Prague metro line). There are also various parking areas in and around the town, including the main square. Nové Strašecí has a town museum with an excellent Celtic exhibition that is well worth combining with a walk in the Celtic landscape.
• The proposed route is 13.4 km long, and involves 200m of height gained-lost. There are several refreshment spots in the center of Nové Strašecí. Most of the route is easy, on asphalt roads, or wide farm tracks, but there is one (unavoidable) 500m section of narrow footpath climbing through the forest that would be a challenge with a stroller. This route is a good one to try also in the winter (provided conditions are not too icy) as the pleasant views over several small lakes are partly obscured by trees during the summer and autumn.

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 town square of Nové Strašecí (buses from Zličín metro station or several paid parking spots on the square). Note – the town museum is just off the main square opposite the Baoque church – if wanting to visit before starting the walk.
• Take the RED hiking trail in the direction of U Stadionu passing under the highway to reach the trail junction after 1.3 km
• At the U Stadionu junction, turn right staying on the RED trail heading in the direction of Mšecké Žehrovice
• After 1.8 km on the left is the spot where the Celtic sculpture was found in 1943. There are two information boards (in Czech) close by discussing the Celtic site and features of the sculpture
• Continue on the RED trail into the village of Mšecké Žehrovice (in the centre of the village is a wooden sculpture to commemorate the finding of the Celtic head – see picture below)
• Continue through the village on the RED trail. At the end of the village, by the pond, the main road and RED trail turns right (point 6 on the map). Here, continue on the smaller unmarked public road up the hill (this is actually part of a green-white diagonal striped educational trail , but the signs do not appear until later)
• After 1.7 km reach the Červený rybník trail junction at the edge of the pond. Turn left onto the BLUE trail in the direction of Punčocha rybník
• After 2.7 km on the track which passes many country cottages and several ponds, reach the Punčocha trail junction. Here, turn left onto the YELLOW trail which ascends into the forest on a narrow footpath
• After 500m the trail flattens out and reaches a junction (point 9 on the map). Here it is possible to slightly shorten the route and (more importantly) avoid a busy section of main road by leaving the YELLOW trail, which bends to the left, and instead continue straight on the unmarked farm track. After a 600m section in the forest, the track crosses the field for 700m to reach the main road.
• On reaching the main road, turn right onto the YELLOW trail again and follow this for 500m back to the U Stadionu trail junction which was visited on the outbound leg
• From U Stadionu return on the same path back to the town center