*A visit to the castle and home of Jaroslav Hašek in Lipnice nad Sázavou: 6 km*
- Lipnice castle is one of the best preserved and most interesting late Gothic castles in the country. The ruins – which have been partially reconstructed and now house a number of exhibitions – are definitely worth exploring. The castle owes its current appearance mostly to the nearly 200-year period of ownership by the Trčkové z Lípa noble house. The Trčkové became one of the most powerful and richest families in the country during the 16th and early 17th centuries, before dying out during the 30 Years War. The cellar complex in the castle is extraordinary and is believed to be the largest in the country.
- Lipnice was built as one of the guard castles along the Sázava river at the edge of the Bohemia-Moravia highlands. This is attractive countryside and it is worthwhile extending the trip to Lipnice with a circuit in the surrounding hills. The route shown in the map below is one of the shorter options, and visits the old quarry areas, which are now filled with water and adorned with some well known modern rock reliefs (one is pictured below).
- One of the guides to the castle ruins in the early 1920’s was local resident and acclaimed author, Jaroslav Hašek. Hašek is best known for the satirical novel, Good Soldier Švejk, written in his final years while living in Lipnice. His house is now a museum dedicated to his life and works.
- The suggested route around 6 km long and involves 150m of height to ascend-descend. It is not a difficult route, but is not suitable for strollers. One of the attractions of the trip is the opportunity to visit the U Česká koruna pub-restaurant (map point 9). This is Hejlík recommendation and is worth a stop. There is also a good točená ice cream stand next to the parking area.
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
- Lipnice is reachable by regional buses, but most visitors will probably be driving. There is a good free car park just outside town
- Starting from there, head uphill to reach the castle and Hašek’s house after 500m
- From there the route to the quarry areas and rock sculptures is best followed on the mapy.com phone application, as the trails are not directly marked. There are, however, signposts to the three scupltures
