Litovel royal town and a walk in the Litovelské Pomoraví nature reserve – 10 km

• The Litovelské Pomoraví is an important nature reserve in central Moravia, close to Olomouc. The reserve was created in 1990 to protect the floodplain of the meandering Morava river, with its unique marsh and water meadow landscape, home to a rich variety of flora and fauna.
• At the center of the reserve is the royal town of Litovel, founded in the 13th century by the Přemyslid king Otakar II. The town hall tower built in the 16th century is an obvious landmark, but the whole town center is historically significant and worth exploring. Branches of the Morava river run directly underneath and around Litovel – hence the town’s nickname; the ‘Venice of Hanakia’. The oldest stone bridge in Moravia is located in the town.
• It is possible to combine a short visit to the town with a walk in the nature reserve. The route shown on the map follows the Lesánkova naučná stezka cycle route into the reserve, and is mostly on asphalt paths, so suitable for strollers. The loop in the reserve is approximately 8 km long, and when combined with a tour around town creates a 10 km to 11 km trip.
• The reserve area will be mostly of interest to those interested in wetland nature, but the forests are scenic particularly in spring time (wild flowers) and autumn (forest colours). There are no refreshment options in the reserve itself, but plenty of spots in Litovel town, including the Regio Kavárna Ječmínek, just of the southwest corner of the main square.

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

• If starting at the bus or train station in Litovel head eastwards into the town center following the RED trail markers. The main square is reached in 500m
• From the main square continue on the RED trail for 800m past the village ponds, to reach the beginning of the educational trail loop
• It is suggested to follow the loop clockwise, so leave the RED trail and follow the educational trail signs (green/white diagonal stripes) along Sochova and then Lužní streets crossing the Morava river on the footbridge
• Continue on the educational trail, joining the cycle path, and re-cross the Morava after 2.5 km
• After a further 1.2 km reach the trail junction of Most přes Bahenku. Here turn right onto the RED hiking trail and return back to Litovel town in 4 km