A visit to chateau Sychrov, its English park and nature trail: 4 km
- The chateau at Sychrov, near Liberec in northern Bohemia, is a neo-Gothic jewel, one of several in the Czech Republic. The chateau was reconstructed in the 19th century, on the site of a medieval fortress, by the noble Rohan family. The Rohan house, like many aristocratic families, fled France and settled in Bohemia after the French Revolution.
- The sumptuous interior of the chateau may be viewed on various guided tours. However, for a short easy walk, the English park (which requires a small entrance fee) has a wide variety of mature trees. At the far side of the park is the 19th century summer house, which is today a stylish café and worth seeking out.
- Outside the chateau walls is a short nature trail through the woods which also passes the 19th century folly, Arthur’s castle and the monument to the visits of different members of the Habsburg royal family in the second half of the 19th century.
- The walk around the park is around 2 km and completely flat on good paths suitable for a stroller, while the nature trail is a bit more rugged, partly on forest footpaths (and adds a further 2 km to the trip). In addition to the recommended café in the park, there are several other refreshment options close to the chateau.
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 chateau has a large parking area directly in front (separate payment required). There are bus connections to the same spot from Turnov bus station
- Enter the chateau through the ticket area, walking through the main courtyard to the park area
- Explore the park at leisure – the suggested route goes anticlockwise – but make sure to visit the orangery at the far side
- After visiting the park, consider also taking the nature trail, which starts behind the Rohanka resturant on the left side of the chateau
- The trail runs clockwise, finishing by passing through the arch at Arthur’s castle and returning along the wall that borders the park area
