*Liběchov and its remarkable sandstone rock reliefs – a 12 km tour*

• Liběchov is a small town located on the right bank river Labe, just a few kilometers north of Mělník. The location has been occupied since the Neolithic, but today it is mostly known for its fine Baroque chateau, which suffered major damage in the 2002 floods and today has a somewhat dilapidated but romantic appearance.
• The chateau’s most famous owners were probably the Veith family. Jakub Veith was a successful industrialist in the late 18th century who purchased the chateau and gave it a Classicist renovation after a major fire. His son, Antonín Veith, was a major patron of the Czech arts in the 19th century.
• One of Veith’s young cooks in the chateau was named Václav Levý. His talent for sculpture was spotted by one of the chateau’s artistic guests and his education supported by the Veith family. Levý became one of country’s leading sculptors in the 19th century. One of his commissions was the creation of the remarkable carved sandstone rocks in the hills above Liběchov. The ‘Devil’s Head’ relief, created by Levý in the 1840’s, is unique in the country. It the second largest series of carved heads in the world, after Mount Rushmore.
• A circular 12 km route which visits Levý’s various rock sculptures can be created, starting at Liběchov chateau and first visiting the Klácelka artificial cave complex and Devil’s Head before circling around to two sculptured rock (the snake and harpist) in the attractive forests above Tupadly village. There are many other sandstone rock formations – without sculptures – to admire in the forest areas.
• The total route has just over 200m of height to ascend/descend and paths up to and down from the Devil’s Head are relatively steep, but otherwise the route is on easy, partly sandy forest paths. There are refreshment options in Liběchov, Želízy and Tupadly.

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

• Liběchov can be reached by regular bus from Ládví in Prague. There is a free parking area next to the chateau. Before starting the walk, take a short stroll around the chateau area and its small park area
• From the chateau, the route follows the BLUE hiking trail firstly heading to Klácelka and then the Devil’s Head, which is reached after 2.8 km
• The route then descends to the village of Tupadly (reached after 3.2 km) and then ascends to the rock sculptures in the forest area (1.8 km from Tupadly)
• The return to Liběchov is on an easy sandy track, again following the BLUE trail markers back to the village, which is reached after 3.5 km