*Komorní Hůrka, the country’s youngest volcano, with an optional start in Cheb: 1 km to 13 km*

• About halfway between the towns of Cheb and Františkovy Lázně, in the far west of Bohemia, a rather inconspicuous wooded hill has attracted a surprising amount of attention over the past two hundred years. The famous writer (and naturalist) J.W Goethe apparently visited the hill four times; the last time in 1822, in the company of Kašpar Maria Count of Šternberk, the founder of the Czech National Museum. The issue which these famous personalities were attempting to resolve was whether this hill was an ancient volcano.
• Goethe – who was convinced this was indeed a volcano, and one of the youngest in the country – suggested a tunnel be dug through the hill to try to locate the anticipated vertical basalt column. It was not until 1837 (and after Goethe’s death) that Šternberk managed to secure the funds to dig the tunnel. But in doing so, he managed to prove that Komorní Hůrka was indeed an extinct volcano, and a relic of the last period of volcanic activity in Bohemia. Geologists estimate that Komorní Hůrka probably erupted sometime between 250,000 and 400,000 years ago.
• A short (1 km) nature trail starts in the village of Komorní Dvůr and leads around the volcano. There are well done De/En/Cz language info boards leading up to the crater. The trail also passes a restored mine shaft, which might have been part of the exploratory work undertaken by Count Šternberk.
• There are various ways to reach Komorní Hůrka. The most direct is to drive to the village and park in the small parking area below the hill. For a more lengthy walk, start either in Františkovy Lázně – some 3 km away – or in Cheb, which is slightly further away, but the latter approach does offer some nice views over the Skalka reservoir (as shown in the pictures below).
• If starting from Cheb, take some time to explore this historic town. Here is a short exploratory route. The border town has a long and interesting history, dating back to Slavic times when a fortress was established in the 9th century. Cheb also has some interesting refreshment options, including a popular Italian ice cream parlor in the medieval Špalíček complex (map point 9). There are some good restaurants, including Botanik Bistro, overlooking the main square (map point 8 – a Hejlík recommendation).
• The circular route from Cheb station is approximately 13 km long in easy terrain, with 140m of height to ascend and descend along the way. If wanting refreshments before returning to Cheb, try the excellent hotel restaurant Komorní Hůrka at the foot of the volcano (map point 7).

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

Directions

• From the train station, follow the RED hiking trail for 1 km heading towards Cheb main square (nám.)
• Continue of the RED trail all the way to the top of the volcano
• Return back to Cheb along the BLUE trail