In the footsteps of Saint Prokop – 5 km and 10 km tours around Sázava town

• 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 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 also provides a superb backdrop to a number of circular walks around the town and the surrounding countryside. The easiest walk, on mostly flat ground, follows the inner loop of the river (within which the modern town was constructed) and is no more than 5 km in length.
• A more adventurous extension of this first loop takes a footpath into the hills above Sázava town and then circles around to visit two excellent viewpoints overlooking the meandering river. Near the two viewpoints are situated the remains of a Neolithic-Bronze Age hillfort, the Hradiště Černé Budy. The foundations of an inner tower, possibly of early medieval-Slavic origin are still visible.
• The extended route also passes the family house of Jiři Voskovec, the famous Czech actor and playwright, situated near the north bank of the river. It is therefore a circuit which offers considerable variety of cultural points of interest…Saint Prokop might even have enjoyed this tour. In total the extended route is 10.4 km in length, with 200m of height gained/lost. The paths are mostly easy wide trails, although there is one short steep section climbing into the forest behind the house of Jiři Voskovec.
• Most people will travel to Sázava by car, using one of the parking areas close to the train station – there are a few options, some paid, some unpaid. The alternative is to travel by train or bus, but there appear to be no fast direct public transport options for travel from Prague.
• A possible refreshment stop after (or before) the walk might be the well rated Sázavská Kozlovna restaurant, situated next to the railway and bus stations.

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 the walk at the hiking signpost situated between the train station and the bus station (also close to the Sázavská Kozlovna restaurant)
• Follow the YELLOW trail in the direction of Sázava (lávka), initially through the bus station and after a short section in the residential area drops down to the river where the first of the weirs is located
• Follow the YELLOW trail along the river bank for 1.9 km until reaching the metal footbridge over the river. Here a choice must be made whether to continue on the full walk or complete a simple 5km loop by returning to town along the RED trail – this route passes the Buřič pond area, which has a nice view of the monastery on the opposite side of the river
• For those continuing on the full walk, cross the (slightly disconcerting) footbridge, still following the YELLOW trail. After crossing the bridge, turn left on the YELLOW trail in the direction of Čertova brázda
• 500m from the bridge the trail crosses the main road and enters the forest area on a narrow footpath quite steep but short section (note: the house on the left when crossing the main road is the family house of Jiři Voskovec)
• The trail climbs steadily for 1.1 km through the Čertova brázda ravine to reach the flatter area where there is the Na Svaté Trojici hiking signpost
• At the signpost, turn left staying on the YELLOW trail and follow this on the forest path for 1.3km to reach the Vlkančický kopec trail junction
• At the junction (where the YELLOW and BLUE trails meet) the required path is a wide forest track but has no trail markings – it is on the right side when arriving at the junction, initially heads due west and is the flattest of the five paths at the junction
• This path continues around the hill for 1km until it joins the RED trail at the kapličky (shrine) sv. Prokopa, where there is a tourist shelter
• From the shrine, take the time to visit the two viewpoints, which are short diversions off the main trail. The first branches off directly at the shrine, the second branches off the RED trail 300m from the shrine – heading away from Sázava
• After visiting the viewpoints, return back to the shrine and continue along the RED trail which gently descends towards the town, joining a residential road after 500m of forest track
• The trail directly passes the monastery. Stay on the RED trail, descending on steps below the monastery and cross the river on the footbridge. The trail arrives back at the residential area close to the train station, where the parking areas are located