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Along the Klabava river valley in the Trhoň nature reserve starting in historic Dobřív – 8 km

  • The historic village of Dobřív lies on the western edge of the Brdy nature reserve, close to Rokyčany. Dobřív has been a center for iron production since at least the 14th century and the famous hammer mill is a unique example of the region’s metallurgical past. The mill now houses an interesting industrial museum, open from April to October. Dobřív is a protected heritage zone, not just because of the mill, but also for many fine examples of timbered folk architecture.
  • The mill was powered by the Klabava river which flows along a picturesque valley, with the Brdy hills on one side and the Trhoň nature reserve on the other. The trail along the valley starting at Dobřív is an attractive short walk which can be easily combined with a visit to the mill. As this a ‘there and back’ walk, it is possible to chose the length of the trip, but a good target point might be the Vimberk castle mound, with its steep rampart ditches designed to protect an early medieval wooden castle (which has now completely disappeared). Vimberk fortress is just under 4 km from the center of Dobřív, on an easy forest trail, with 70m of height to ascend on the journey.
  • There are couple of good places for refreshment in Dobřív, including the Stará Hospoda (a rare timbered coaching inn dating from the 18th century). This is situated next to the picturesque 17th century stone ‘Swedish’ bridge (the name apparently derives from the transportation of cannonballs manufactured in the Dobřív hammer mill for the Swedish army during the 30 Years War).
  • Note – this walk is the final segment of a longer (22 km) trip circling into the Brdy hills, which also starts in Dobřív. The longer walk can be found here.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.cz’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

  • Start the walk in the center of the village of Dobřív. There is a free parking area next to the Hamrovka Pension and restaurant. Regular buses are available to Dobřív from Rokycany
  • Follow the BLUE trail over the old stone bridge and past the mill and continue for 3.1 km after passing the mill to reach the Vimberk site
  • Return back on the same trail
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