An easy walk along the educational trail in the historic monastery town of Plasy: 5 km

• Plasy monastery was founded by Prince Vladislav II in 1144, his first foundation under the Cistercian order. The monastery grew in importance until 1421, when it was destroyed during the Hussite Wars. It was not until after the 30 Years War that the monastery regained its preeminence, most notably under the pioneering abbot Evžen Tyttl, who employed the illustrious architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel in the early 18th century to design a grand new convent.
• Today, parts of the grand monastery have been reconstructed. Parts remain a shadow of their former glory, but the whole complex remains one of the most remarkable Baroque architectural sites in the country. The monastery was constructed in marshland beside the Střela river and the ingenious system for stabilizing the wooden foundations of the convent, as modified by Santini, is one of the unusual features that can be viewed on guided tours of the monastery (between April and October).
• Even out of season, the monastery is worth visiting (and is much quieter then). There is a good circular nature/education trail around the town (including a section along the Střela) which is worth exploring. The information boards are only in Czech, but the route is no more than 5 km long, is essentially flat and can be managed with a stroller.
• One highlight of a visit to Plasy is a stop in the old brewery established by the powerful Austrian noble family of Mitternich, which acquired the Plasy estate in 1826. The brewery closed down in 1965, but was reopened in 2015 and now offers a wide range of beers and classic food in its atmospheric restaurant.
• For those wanting a longer (and more challenging) walk finishing at Plasy, consider walking the footpath beside (and above) the Střela, starting at the train station of Maladotice some 9 km downstream. This route is described here.

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

• Plasy can be reached by frequent buses from Plzeň. For drivers, there are a couple of large car parks near the monastery
• The nature trail (marked with green-white diagonal stripes) begins at the car park next to the town pond, 300m southwest of the monastery complex
• The trail runs anticlockwise, with the first section following the main road for 300m on the eastern (right) side of the convent for 300m
• It then turns left along the town main street and runs for 1.7 km until reaching a footbridge across the Střela
• The trail then follows the river back towards the monastery complex, which is reached after 2 km