The Cyril & Methodius trail, stage 17: from Křtiny to Rousínov – 19 km (extendable)

• The Cyril & Methodius route is a series of interlinked hiking trails connected with the life and mission of the 9th century Byzantine missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. The route was established by the Council of Europe in 2021 and now comprises over 5,000 km of trails, spanning 10 countries. The Saints – who were brothers – are most famous for helping bring Christianity to the Slavic lands. They are most closely associated with the Great Moravian Empire, where Methodius became the first Archbishop.
• The Czech Republic has six different Cyril & Methodius trails, all of which end at the pilgrimage site of Velehrad, in the eastern Moravian Zlín region. Velehrad was (in folk tradition) the seat of Methodius after he became archbishop. It is also the site of Moravia’s first Cistercian monastery. The Bohemian-Moravian trail runs for approximately 420 km between the site of the first Bohemian church, at Levý Hradec and Velehrad
• Stage 17 of the Bohemian-Moravian trail is one of the easier and more tranquil segments, mostly spent in the forests of the Drahanská vrchovina range of hills. The route begins in Křtiny, home to one of Moravia’s most impressive monuments. Křtiny has been an important Marian pilgrimage site since the Medieval period. The remarkable Baroque basilica was designed by the legendary Baroque Czech-Italian architect, Jan Blažej Santini. It is considered one of his finest works. The impressive adjoining chateau was originally a Premonstratensian monastery, but is now owned by Brno´s Mendel University.
• The route descends from the hills passing along a new nature trail focused on the springs and wildlife to be found in the Drahaanký hills, before arriving into the lowland Vyškov Gap, where the famous vineyards of South Moravia begin. The route finishes in the historic town of Rousínov, which dates from at least the early 13th century. Rousínov sits in the middle of the Vyškov gap, which was an ancient trade route. Rousínov presumably controlled and guarded the trading paths in the Medieval period. Today it guards the D1 highway, and little of its medieval past remains.
• The 19 km stage has few distractions or sights to see along the way and has no difficult paths. With only 250m of height to ascend (and 430m of descent) it is one of the easiest segments. Keen and fit walkers might therefore consider combining Stage 17 and 18 together for a long (but not impossibly long) segment of around 36 km, finishing in Bučovice – arguably a more interesting town than Rousínov. For refreshments, after reaching Rouínov, try Cafe Moya on the main square.

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

• From Křtiny, take the RED trail for 5 km to reach the Lhotky junction and there turn on to the BLUE trail heading towards Malá Říčka
• The Malá Říčka junction is reached after 3.5 km, at which point rejoin the RED trail which leads directly into Rousínov after 10 km