A circuit around the unique Baroque landscape of Kladruby monastery: 8 km
- Kladruby monastery is one of the country’s most famous Baroque monuments, primarily due to the majestic reconstruction of Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, by Jan Blažej Santini Aichel. The church was reconstructed in Santini’s unique style – termed the Czech Baroque Gothic. Its 46m high central dome is topped by a golden Marian crown, visible from afar.
- The Benedictine monastery, originally founded in in 1115 by Duke Vladislav I, has a long and rich history which can be explored on the guided tours that are offered from April to October. Even at times when the monastery is closed, there is a pleasant walk around the surrounding countryside, following a 7 km nature trail which has 15 information boards (in Czech only).
- For those interested in recent military history, the area is dotted with bunkers created during before WWII and then put into use again at the height of the 1960’s cold war. Two bunkers close to the monastery (map point 7) have been turned into museums (one from each period) and are open for tours in the summer months.
- The nature trail starts at the monastery and runs clockwise, passing through the town of Kladruby and crossing the small river Úhlavka twice. The trail is mostly on easy forest or meadow footpaths but there are a couple of short steeper sections. There is a total of 160m of height to ascend/descend on the route. For refreshments, try the well-known restaurant situated in the monastery.
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
- If travelling by public transport, the nearest bus stop to the monastery is in the town of Kladruby, in which case start the circular route from there. If driving, there is a free car park opposite the monastery
- From the monastery car park, after exploring the monastery complex, join the YELLOW trail in the direction of Úhlavka
- Stay on the YELLOW trail throughout the route. This is the nature trail with its 15 information boards. The route returns back to Kladruby monastery after 7 km
