*A walk around Domažlice, heart of the historic ‘Chodsko’ region: 3 km*

• Domažlice is the central town of the historic region known as Chodsko. The name derives from the Chods (literally meaning ‘walkers’), a privileged group of peasants charged by the king in the medieval and renaissance periods with guarding the trading routes to and from Bavaria. The Chods were suppressed under the Habsburg rulers of the late 17th century, but the folk tradition lingered on and is still celebrated in the region. The excellent Domažlice town museum is a great place to start to learn about Chodsko traditions.
• The Chodsko region essentially the bridges the gap between the upland areas of Český les and Šumava. The old trade routes (which date back to prehistoric times) pass through this gap leading from the upper Danube area into the heart of Bohemia. The picturesque main street of Domažlice, lined with medieval and renaissance buildings, is oriented on this west to east axis. The town became wealthy due to its role in this east-west trade.
• The town is dominated by its two medieval towers, probably built when the town gained its extensive fortification in the 13th century, under Přemysl Otakar II. The taller tower (famously leaning slightly) is attached to the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The lower tower is attached to the former Gothic castle, which now houses the town museum. This tower is accessible year round.
• It is only a short walk to explore the historic center of town, which is located 1 km from the main train station (which has direct links with Prague). It is well worth using the town as a base to explore both the Chodsko and Český les regions. There are several good restaurants along the main street-square. For an excellent bistro-café try the Hejlík recommended Lumi coffee (map point 7).

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 main square-central historic street begins 1.1 km from the train station, along the RED hiking trail.
• The walk around the center is (hopefully!) obvious and does not need additional directions