*Exploring Klecany and the Klecanský háj viewpoints: a 7 km circuit*

Exploring Klecany and the Klecanský háj viewpoints: a 7 km circuit

Klecany is a small town with a long history, located on an escarpment overlooking the river Vltava a few km to the north of Prague. The town is associated with the settlement of the Prague area by Slavic tribes that controlled the region in the early Middle Ages. Legend has it that Klecany was founded by Prince Přemysl in the 8th century and gifted to one of his followers. It certainly seems likely that the Slavic hillfort constructed overlooking a bend in the river had an important signal role, with direct line of site to Prague castle and the important Levý Hradec Slavic settlement further up the river on the opposite bank. Rich Slavic graves have been unearthed near the hillfort dating from the 9th century onwards.
Today, the remains of the Klecany hillfort itself are difficult to spot, but the possible signal points directly on the cliff edge are not hard to locate. Just 100m from the map viewpoint marker, there is a perfect site for a beacon, in full view of the St Vitus’ spire on Hradčany and the chapel of St Clement – Bohemia’s first church – on the Levý Hradec hilltop.
For a small town on the edge of Prague, Klecany has a surprising number of monuments dating from different periods; the historical house of 19th century priest and author, Václav Beneš Třebízský ; an ornate neo-Renaissance church with Baroque and Gothic origins; a freshly refurbished Empire style mansion (reconstructed from a Baroque chateau which was famously visited by Empress Maria Therese in the 18th century) and even a curious 19th century obelisk in the middle of the forest. Klecany has lots to see.
The 7 km circuit marked below essentially follows a marked nature trail (blue/white triangle markers) which has numerous information boards (in Czech only) along the way. It includes a section below Klecany besides the river Vltava.
Klecany can be reached by regular bus from the Kobylisy metro station, and there are parking spots in the main square. Most of the paths around town and to the main viewpoint over the river can be negotiated with a stroller, but some of the other paths in the forest have steeper sections. The stroller route is mentioned in the directions below. There are various good refreshment spots in town, including the excellent bistros Farm Table (map point 13) and Kolorit (map point 8). There is a pleasant café on the main square, Kavarná Klícka.

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

The blue-white diagonal nature trail is best picked up in the square opposite the chateau. From there it heads down the main straight, initially following the GREEN hiking trail and then branching off down a side street
While there are some markers along the route (and wooden signposts at some junctions) the markers are not everzwhere needed and the route can get a bit confusing. Accordingly, it is best followed using the mapy.cz phone application, which does a good job of following the route, especially in the forest section, where there are multiple paths