Exploring the Lužické hory from Jablonné: a 19km tour via Lemberk castle

• An attractive tour in varied terrain starting in the historic town of Jablonné v Podještědí, founded as a Dominican convent in the 13th century, by Saint Zdislava.
• The walk passes the basilka where St Zdislava is buried, and then visits the Baroque Chateau of Lemberk (which was originally a Gothic fortress founded by Zdislava’s husband Havel, of the Markvartice family).
• The tour then crosses the foothills of the Lužické hory, traversing below Sokol, one of the volcanic hills in the region (which may optionally be climbed – giving a 2km extension to the walk), before circling back to Jablonné v Podještědí
• The walk is on good paths with no significant steep sections (if the Sokol extension is not taken), with 315m of height gained/lost on its 18.8km length
• Light refreshments may be available at Lemberk castle, and in Jablonné v Podještědí at the start/finish of the walk, but there are no refreshment options in the hills so sufficient water should be taken for this section.

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

• Start in the town centre of Jablonné v Podještědí (there is free parking in the attractive town square)
• Follow the GREEN trail which passes the 19th century basilika (built on the site of the medieval church attached to the Dominican monastery). The basilika is worth a quick tour. In the crypt is the tomb of Saint Zdislava, who founded the Dominican convent in the 13th century
• From the basilika continue on the GREEN trail for 2.7km initially along the stream and rybník, past attractive examples of folk architecture, and then on the attractive tree lined approach to Lemberk castle, which is a fine example of an early Baroque Chateau (built on the site of a Gothic fortress founded by Zdislava’s husband Havel of the Marvartic family around 1240). The castle is open to the public
• From the castle take the YELLOW trail (direction Lvová) partly along the main road and then towards the hills through attractive pastures to reach, after 3.2km, the signpost of Pod Liščí horou
• At the signpost, turn left onto the BLUE trail in the direction of the village Petrovice, which is reached after 2km on a lovely sandy forest trail
• In Petrovice join the RED trail and continue in the direction of Sokol (which is a conical hill formed by a volcanic basalt intrusion). The hill may optionally be ascended by a steep path which branches off the main trail (signpost reached after 1.7km from Petrovice). At the summit there is the – mostly disappeared – ruins of a small 15th century fortress ( Starý Falkenburk)
• From the Sokol signpost, continue on the RED trail for 570m to reach the junction with the BLUE trail. Take this BLUE trail – sharply to to the left (note: there is no signpost and this turn is easy to miss)
• Descend from the hills on this BLUE trail, initially through the forest and then across the pastures to reach the village of Heřmanice v Podještědí
• In the village, turn left onto the RED trail (direction Jablonné v Podještědí) and follow this trail for 4.7km, which leads eventually back to the town square