A short tour around historic Jihlava, the capital of the Vysočina region: 4 km
- The historic city of Jihlava straddles the historic Moravian/Bohemian border in the center of the Vysočina region. It is considered the oldest mining town in the country, with the establishment of important silver mines in the early 13th century.
- As a result of the city’s importance and long history there is a rich blend of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture in the center of the (otherwise industrial) city, which is worth exploring. The powerful medieval fortifications ringing the city are also largely in tact.
- Jihlava is also known for its zoo, which can easily be combined with a short tour around the historical center. The route shown in the map below starts at the main bus station circles around best section of the fortifications and then drops down to the river area where the zoo is located. The return trip to the bus station passes the early Gothic (13th century) church of St James and then through the main square. The trail also passes through the Gustav Mahler gardens – Mahler was a resident in the city for fifteen years.
- The suggested route is just over 4 km long, on mostly asphalt pavements. There is just one short step section, so should be manageable with a stroller. For refreshments, there are a number of good café/restaurants in town. Try the Café Ignác on the corner of the main square (map point 8). Cat lovers might want to check out Ta kočičí v Jihlavě, which is on a side street close the old walls (map point 4).
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
- At the bus station, join the BLUE hiking trail and head in the direction of Jihlava, Znojemský most
- The BLUE trail follows the outline of the medieval walls (note the Mahler gardens on the right after 600m) and then drops down to the river close to the zoo entrance
- For the return, cross the park on one of the footpaths and climb up to the prominent Gothic church of St James
- From the church take the side streetto enter the main square
- Walk the length of the square, exiting on the side street in the opposite corner, rejoining the BLUE trail next to the Mahler gardens
- Return to the bus station along the BLUE trail
