Stage 4 of the Cyril & Methodius trail: From Pyšely (or Čerčany) to Sázava – 20 km to 27 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, Přemyslid Bořivoj I, who was probably baptised by Methodius in Velehrad.
The fourth stage of the route starts in Pyšely, nestled in the forests overlooking the Sázava river valley. Here there is a beautifully restored Renaissance-Baroque chateau, which is now a Seniors home. Pyšely is not, however, the most obvious place to start and finish a stage of a long-distance route, as public transport options to/from the village are quite limited. A better option for those not tackling the route as a continuous 20-stage marathon, might be to start the stage 4 km down in the valley, at Čerčany train station. Čerčany has direct train connections with Prague.
From Čerčany, the route hugs the attractive Sázava river for the rest of of stage. It is mostly a trail along the side road used by owners of cottages that line the river, so is one of the easier stages in the multiday route. There are couple of important historical sites worth diverting to along way, the first of which has strong connections with the the early Přemyslid dynasty. Hradiště Lštění was probably founded in the 9th century AD by the Zličané, a Slavic tribe which controlled parts of eastern central Bohemia at that time. The fortress was constructed on a 4ha promontory overlooking the Sázava and was protected on three sides by steep slopes. A massive rampart was constructed to protect the exposed east flank.
At the end of the 10th century, Lštění fell under the control of the Přemyslid dukes after the massacre of the ruling Slavník dynasty, by Boleslav II. Thereafter, Lštění became part of a ring of at least six strategic fortifications controlled by the Přemyslid dynasty in the 11th century, which protected its core central Bohemian territory (centered on Prague). As with most Přemyslid fortifications in older Slavic sites, a church was constructed on the acropolis area. At Lštění the church was dedicated to St Clement (the early Roman bishop, martyred in the reign of Emperor Trajan) . Long after the site had ceased to be used for military purposes and the ramparts abandoned, the church of St Clement remained, its original Romanesque form given a Gothic and then Baroque appearance. Today, the church still stands tall, overlooking the shimmering Sázava.
Just a little further down is the castle of Zlenice, with its ruined Great Tower, which features extensively in the drawings of the famous 20th century Czech illustrator, Josef Lada, who lived in the nearby village of Hrusice. Zlenice castle dates from the late 13th century, and was destroyed during the tumultuous reign of Jiří of Poděbrad, in the second half of the 15th century. Below the ruin is a popular riverside swimming area and the well known Baštírna snack bar.
From Zlenice, the route continues serenely beside the river until climbing up for a view over the river from the Rufusova viewpoint before dropping down to the town of Sázava, where famous monastery awaits. Almost a thousand years ago, so the story is told, a wise and pious hermit named Prokop lived in a cave near the Sázava river. Followers started to gather around Prokop, attracting the attention of the rulers of Bohemia. Recognizing Procopius’ growing fame, the Přemyslid rulers founded a Benedictine monastery on a rocky outcrop above a bend in the river and installed Prokop as the first abbot. Prokop served for over twenty years, until his death in 1053.
Today, the ancient monastery on the banks of the Sázava looks very different to how it must have appeared in Prokop’s day. The original Romanesque buildings were transformed to a Gothic style in the 14th century, by which time Prokop had been canonized and had become Bohemia’s patron saint. The monastery was badly damaged in the 15th century Hussite wars, and so was later reconstructed in a Baroque and then in the 18th century it took on a neo-Renaissance style. Despite its multiple changes in facade, the monastery is still a striking building. It is usually open for tours from April to October.
It is a 20 km direct route from Čerčany station to Sázava station, and a further 5 km down from Pyšely if following the official C&M route. The optional diversion to the Lštění site adds 2 km to the overall route, which in total involves around 340m of ascent-descent (none of which is difficult). There are various refreshment spots along the river (especially in the summer months), but save some space for a stop in Sázava town -either the cosy café Laska, opposite the monastery, or Sázavská Kozlovna, next to the train station.

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

Starting in Pyšely, join the YELLOW trail heading to Čerčany, which is reached in 4.4 km
From Čerčany join the RED trail heading towards Sázava
After 2.2 km reach the Lštění – most junction, where the optional diversion up to the Lštění site begins – along the BLUE trail
After visiting the Lštění site, continue along the RED trail, which leads directly into Sázava town center