Short walks from Louny (I) : along the Ohře river to Lužerady – 7 km

• The royal town of Louny is located on the river Ohře, some 50 km northwest of Prague. It is an interesting town, originally founded by king Ottakar II in the 13th century. The town center is still enclosed by its 15th century fortifications and there are a number of fine buildings from the 16th to 18th centuries to discover on its streets, not least being the late Gothic masterpiece, the Church of St Peter’s, designed by the famous architect Benedict Rejt.
• Louny is worth exploring on a day trip, or potentially as a base for trips into northwest Bohemia. There are a number of pleasant small hotels located in the old town, including the well-regarded Hotel Caramell and Hotel U Radnice.
• There are several walks available in the area of Louny, including hikes up the nearby volcanic hills of Raná and Oblík. However, for a short walk after or before exploring the old town, consider the one way 7 km walk along the river from Louny to Březno, where there is an unusual open-air archeological museum with reconstructed ancient dwellings.
• Alternatively take the circular route described below along the scenic paths beside the Ohře river (in the opposite direction from Březno), possibly stopping at the historical hamlet of Lužerady for refreshments. The first section of the suggested route explores the freshly reconstructed Masarykovy sady park area, with its colorful WWII bunker and a nice café in the exhibition pavilion, constructed in 1931.
• After exploring the park area, the route passes under the early 19th century sandstone flood bridge. The bridge was designed to protect the Prague-Leipzig road from frequent floods of the Ohře river. At nearly 300m long and slightly curved it is an unusual and important protected technical monument.
• The next section of the route passes through the fertile agricultural land, famous for its high quality hops production, before arriving at the ancient hamlet of Lužerady. The old restaurant has recently been reconstructed and serves refreshments at weekends during the day. The final section of the route returns to the town center along the Ohře river (note – the heavy tree cover along the route means that the views of the river are mostly obscured, so this could be a good route in winter).
• The 7.5 km route shown on the map is almost completely flat, but apart from the initial section in the park, could be a challenge with a stroller, as the paths in the fields and along the river can be rutted and muddy.
• Louny has a wide variety of excellent refreshment spots. For good coffee and ice cream try Cukrána Fragolose on the main square. For more substantial fare, try the restaurant Merlot, near the beautiful 15th century Žatec gate, or for a more traditional pub, try the Šalanda, opposite St Peter’s Church.

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

• From the town center (Mírové náměstí), follow the GREEN hiking trail down the steps towards the river and then cross the Ohře using the road bridge
• Immediately after crossing the bridge, turn left and follow the river, entering the Masarykovy sady park area
• After 250m cross the Ohře again on the pedestrian bridge to circle around the reconstructed exhibition park area (café, colored bunker etc). Return back over the pedestrian bridge
• Continue through the park, following the BLUE hiking trail and leave the park to join the K Velodromu street
• After 200m take the tree-lined alley to the right (Alej Vzdechů)
• The alley ends after 200m and meets the GREEN hiking trail. Turn right and continue back towards town for 500m (on the left side is the remarkable flood bridge built from local sandstone)
• Just before the restaurant Stromovka cross under the flood bridge, following the blue-white diagonal striped nature trail markings in the direction of Lužerady
• Following the nature trail as it winds arounds the fields, some filled with hops, a famous product of the region
• After 2.2 km reach the hamlet of Lužerady, where the small outside seating refreshment area may be open (it has longer hours at weekends and public holidays)
• From Lužerady continue along the nature trail which follows the Ohře crossing the river using the railway bridge. The town center is reached after 2.4 km