Seeking the vanished medieval village of Sekanka – a 5 km walk starting in Hradištko
- In 999 AD, a new Benedictine monastery was founded by the Přemyslid prince, Boleslav II, on a small island in the Vltava river, near its confluence with the river Sázava. It was only the second male monastery to be established in Bohemia and over the following two centuries it grew slowly in prestige.
- On the neighboring peninsular a small Slavic settlement may have existed from around the 7th century, but it was not until the mid 13th century that monastery founded a town on the plateau at the narrowest end of the peninsular. The location of the town is known today as Sekanka. It is an iconic medieval archaeological site, for one simple reason – the town survived no more than a couple of decades and the remains that are buried in the encroaching forest thus provide a unique snapshot of 13th century Bohemian life.
- What caused the town to be abandoned so quickly? It seems that soldiers from an occupying army belonging to Margrave Otto V of Brandenburg pillaged and ransacked the area in 1278, shortly after the death of the Přemyslid King Ottakar II in the famous medieval cavalry battle of Moravian fields.
- Brandenburg’s forces were invited to Bohemia by Ottakar II’s widow as protection against the army of the German King Rudolf of Habsburg – the victor at Moravian fields. The protection came at a considerable price. The monastery was severely damaged in the looting, and never recovered its former prestige. The town of Sekanka was largely abandoned, its defenses unfinished and the temporary homes left to collapse.
- Today, there is a short but well presented educational trail with info boards (in Czech) around the site of the ruined medieval town, which is now hidden beneath the tree roots. The island monastery site is also part of the trail, but requires a private boat to reach the ruins. The archaeological site is 2 km from the modern town of Hradištko, an easy walk along a quiet road. In addition to the educational trail, there are a couple of viewpoints to discover that overlook the Vltava and Sázava rivers at the edge of the peninsular.
- Hradištko can be reached by bus from Smíchov railway station in Prague, and there is parking area close to the Baroque chateau complex in the center of town. Opposite the chateau is a small café serving excellent cakes in the same building as the post office. None of the trails are hard, but the forest path is not really suitable for a stroller. There is 100m of height gained-lost on the 5km trip there and back. In winter and early spring, when the trees are without leaves, the views are even more impressive.
- This walk can be combined with the 11 km educational tour around Hradištko, which has the same starting point. This second trail focuses on the somber history of the town between 1942 and 1945, when the townfolk were evicted by the Nazi regime, which established an SS training camp and prisoner of war camp in the locality.
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 Chateau/post office, take the street K Sekance. This is also marked as a cycle path
- Follow the road for 2 km to reach the archaeological area, which starts in the main forest. There are several information boards on side paths just off the central trail through the site
- At the far end of the peninsular the trail drops down slightly, past a couple of cottages to reach the ‘eagle’s nest’ viewpoint
- On the return journey, 300m from the viewpoint, take the signposted cycle path to the left to follow the eastern edge of the peninsular through the forest – there a fine view over the Sázava at one point
- This path leads back to the street K Sekance , which is again taken back to the center of Hradištko