The Cyril & Methodius trail, stage 5 – from Sázava to Český Šternberk: 19 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 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 and Velehrad.
The fifth stage of the Bohemian-Moravian trail runs between two of the most famous sites on the Sázava river, the Benedictine monastery in the town of Sázava and the Gothic castle at Český Šternberk. There are at least three walking routes between these two landmark sites. In this author’s view, the best route runs close to the river Sázava and totals around 13 km. The ‘official’ route (as marked on maps and signposts – and shown below) is longer (at around 19 km) and mostly stays in the hills on the right bank of the river.
Although arguably less pretty than the riverside walk, the official route does pass through the interesting and historic town of Rataje. The 19 km route assumes a start and finish at the relevant train stations and includes diversions to the monastery and castle (which adds up to 2 km to the basic route). This route is quite hilly with around 450m of height to ascend-descend, with some relatively steep sections in the forest after Rataje. For those not wedded to staying on the official path, the riverside route linked above is easier!
For refreshments after reaching Český Šternberk, try the pleasant café in the castle courtyard. In Sázava, try the Sázavská Kozlovna, a new concept pub serving classic Czech dishes, or the attractive Café Láska, next to the monastery.

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

Directions

From the train station head towards the Sáyava main square to pick up the RED hiking trail. The monastery is a 600m diversion on a branch of the RED path
The official C&M route to Český Šternberk essentially follows the RED trail for the entire route