*A short walk around the park area at Chateau Orlík: 6 km*
- Orlík is one of the most famous and striking of the many chateaux that dot the Bohemian landscape. Located on a high promontory overlooking the Vltava River, Orlík was originally a Gothic royal castle, probably commissioned by the Přemyslid King Otakar II, in the 13th century. The castle underwent several transformations over the centuries, most recently in the mid 19th century when it obtained its current Neo-Gothic form.
- The chateau was acquired by a branch of the Schwarzenberg noble family in the 18th century. The family still owns the chateau today. Perhaps the most notable owner was Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, who commanded the Imperial forces that defeated Napoleon at the decisive battle of Leipzig in 1813. The chateau is normally open for (quite expensive) tours from April to October. It is possible to walk around the outside of the chateau and small garden area for free!
- Extensive lands are owned by the chateau, which were partly developed into a natural landscape English park by Karl Philipp. They are open throughout the year and offer a variety of scenic walks, with extensive views over the Orlík reservoir (the Vltava was dammed in the 1960’s creating long ribbon like lake).
- The main park area, which is mostly forested, lies to the north of the Chateau. A marked nature trail follows the cliff edge and then loops back to pass the spectacular Schwarzenberg tomb which was created at the same time as the Neo-Gothic renovations in the mid 19th century.
- The paths are not difficult, but along the cliff edge they are quite narrow. These can be avoided if necessary by taking alternative parks in the park (eg if walking with a stroller, but this misses out the best views). The total height gained-lost on the combined route (6 km including visiting the chateau) is 160m.
- For refreshments, try the interesting new bistro, located in a converted barn next to the chateau. It is only open seasonally but is definitely worth visiting when open.
- Note: for a longer trip starting at the same point (Orlík chateau) consider the more rugged nature trail that runs above the reservoir to the south of the chateau. A 16 km walk on this trail is described here.
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
- The village of Orlík nad Vltavou can be reached by bus from the large town of Písek. For drivers there is extensive (paid) parking in the village center
- From the parking area follow the red nature trail marks (red-white diagonal stripes) for 600m to the Mičan trail signpost (by the pond). From here the loop can be done either clockwise or anticlockwise, depending whether preferring to do the section along the cliff before or after visiting the tomb area. The suggestion in the map is to do the cliff walk before the tomb.
- The loop returns back to Mičan after 3. 5 km. From there return along the same path to the car park, or divert along the signposted track to visit the chateau area
