Stage 2 of the Cyril & Methodius route – Prague Castle to Průhonice: 26 km

• 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 Great Moravian Empire, where Methodius became the first Archbishop.
• The Czech Republic has six different Cyril & Methodius trails, all 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 (10 km to the north of Prague) and Velehrad. The church was established by the first historically documented Bohemian duke, Bořivoj I, who was probably baptised by Methodius in Velehrad.
• The second stage of the route is one of the longest of the twenty stages and runs from Prague Castle (founded shortly after Bořivoj’s baptism at the end of the 9th century) to Průhonice castle (arguably hosting the country’s most spectacular landscaped castle park). The stage begins with a long stretch along the Vltava travelling southwards out of town, before heading into Kunratický forest (where the ruins of Wenceslaus IV’s 15th century castle can be investigated, as a diversion from the main route). The final section heads across country where attractive new residential districts, such as Vestec, are springing up.
• Although it is a fine full day walk, linking two iconic Bohemian sites, it is quite long and there are too many sites along the way to explore in a single day trip. Accordingly, those walkers not undertaking the full C&M route will probably prefer to explore these different areas of Prague on shorter, standalone walks. The guide has various suggestions for shorter walks including Vestec, Průhonice, Prague castle and Kunratický forest. These can be found using the location filter.
• For those undertaking the full Cyril & Methodius route, this stage is around 26 km long, assuming a start and finish at the nearest public transport stops. Although long, it is relatively flat, with around 150m of ascent and 100m of descent, mostly on asphalt surfaces. The route can be managed with a stroller. There are manz refreshment spots along the way, including some good options in Průhonice, such as the Hliněná Bašta (map point 10), but for something around the halfway point, consider the U krále Václava IV in Kunratice forest (map point 6) or stop for an ice cream at the Šabatovo shop in Kunratice.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• As this route involves sections across the residential areas of southern Prague on side streets that have no hiking or trail markers, it is best followed by downloading the mapy.com phone application (and using the route shown in the map above) or by using a good paper map
• Once at the Kunratice forest, follow the YELLOW hiking trail all the way to Průhonice