A visit to Kunžvart castle and the prehistoric ritual site on the slopes of Strážný (1115m): 6 km
- Sometime in the late 13th century a small fortress was constructed on a granite outcrop on the eastern flank of Strážný, close to the border with Germany. The Kunžvart castle was built to protect the important trade route between Bohemia and the Danube region. At an altitude of 1037m, it is probably the highest stone castle in the country.
- The fortress site may have been occupied in prehistory and it is believed that the granite rocks next to the castle tower, with their indented pools, may have been an ancient ritual site. It is clear that Celtic tribes occupied these hills from the middle of the Iron Age, and it seems likely that the current border crossing at Strážný was also a important pass in prehistoric times.
- Kunžvart is easily reached from the Šumava border village of Strážný, in just over 2 km on easy footpaths through the attractive mixed spruce and beech forest on the slopes of the mountain of the same name. The last section is a slightly awkward scramble through the granite rocks. To achieve a circular route, it is possible circle around the pastures on the mountainside and return back to Strážný along the cycle path.
- The circular rote of 6 km has around 250m of height to ascend/descend. For refreshments, try the highly regarded specialist fish restaurant Rybárna Strážný (map point 5) just along the main street.
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
- Starting in Strážný village, take the BLUE hiking trail in the direction of Kunžvart, which is reached in just over 2 km
- Descend from the tower area for 200m on the BLUE trail to the junction and there turn right onto the YELLOW trail
- After 1.2 km reach the mountain road, where the YELLOW trail turns left, but here turn right onto the cycle track and return to Strážný in 2.5 km
