Along the Doubrava river to the fairytale castle of Žleby – 6 km

• Žleby might be how exactly how one imagines a fairytale chateau to look like – a complicated mix of differently shaped towers, battlements and turrets situated on a picturesque loop of a small river, surrounded by landscaped gardens and a deer park…If that is how you imagine the perfect castle, then Žleby should on your list of ‘must visit’ sites in Bohemia.
• The chateau was reconstructed into its current romantic neo-Renaissance appearance in the 19th century by then owners, the old Tyrolean family of Auersperg. However, the chateau has its origins in a 13th century Gothic fortress, which changed hands and appearance several times over the centuries. Today, the chateau is owned by the State and during the April-October season is open for guided tours, including one which explores the lifestyle of the 19th century aristocracy.
• For a short walk around the chateau and its gardens there is a parking area directly below the chateau in the village and regular bus connections from Časlav, which has mainline trains from Prague and Brno. However, for a longer walk take the attractive 5 km hiking trail to Žleby starting at Ronov nad Doubravou, an attractive small town with some well preserved Baroque houses.
• The basically flat trail follows the Doubrava river and has sections in the woods, beside the river and also offers good views of the approaching chateau turrets. Ronov has good bus connections with Časlav (and Žleby for the journey back) . For drivers there is a parking area in the center of Ronov. For refreshments, there is a well regarded pub in the village of Žleby and a nice café (the Kavárna Staré časy) just at the start of the trail in Ronov.

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

• Start in the town center of Ronov nad Doubravou and join the RED hiking trail in the direction of Žleby
• Follow the trail for 800m out of town and then cross the river using the Sádecký most (footbridge)
• Stay on the RED trail, which runs close to the river and after 4.6 km reach the castle
• After visiting the main courtyard (where the paid guided tours begin) walk through the chateau gardens to get a perspective of turrets from all angles and then follow the main street (which is also marked with the RED trail markers) to the village center for the bus stop (and pub)