*A short visit to Nepomuk and Zelená Hora chateau in west Bohemia: 5 km to 10 km*

• Nepomuk is a small historic town located 30 km southeast of Plzeň in west Bohemia. It was probably founded around 1134, at the same time as a Cistercian monastery 2 km to the north, making Nepomuk one of west Bohemia’s oldest towns. The monastery has since disappeared (it was burnt down by the Hussites in 1420) and its remains incorporated into the houses of the village of Klášter.
• Nepomuk has a pretty cobbled square (which is unusually sloping) and a history of brewing (the popular family-owned brewery Zlatá kráva is located in the town) but is most famous as the birthplace of Saint Jan Nepomucký around 1345. The Baroque Church of Saint John of Nepomuk is believed to stand on the site of the Saint’s place of birth. The impressive pilgrimage church was designed by the famous Baroque architect, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer.
• In the early 13th century, a Gothic castle was constructed on the steep-sided hill called Zelená Hora, which overlooks the town. This was apparently a former Celtic ritual site. Zelená Hora castle came to have an important role in Czech history and passed through the hands of many of the land’s most powerful noble houses, including the Šternberks, the Colloredo – Mannsfelds and the Auersperg family. The unusual history of the castle, which was transformed several times into its current rather ungainly mix of chateau styles, is worth a read.
• The last period of use of the chateau was by the Czech army in the years up the 1989 and most of the estate today is in a state of disrepair but is slowly undergoing renovation, funded by an innovative mix of fundraising activities by the town. The chateau area, including many of the unrefurbished interior rooms (some of which are used for occasional exhibitions) can be toured during the summer months – just do not expect a lavishly furnished Baroque chateau! It is, however, still worth a visit.
• The easy walk up to the chateau from the town center is just under 2 km long, with 100m of height difference, on an asphalt road. It is worth extending the walk slightly (to just over 5 km total) by taking a loop around the hill, part of which is on a pleasant forest track, and returning to town on along the country road that runs between Nepomuk and Klášter.
• There are various good refreshment options in town (or nearby), including the classic Czech restaurant U Zeleného stromu, run by the Švejk chain (map point 2) and a pleasant café in a historic building behind the old post office (map point 4). For a special treat, the well-known Angus Farm restaurant (map point 9) can be found in the neighboring village of Soběsuky (it is a 5 km walk from Nepomuk – as shown in the map below – or a short bus/car journey).

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Start in Nepomuk town center (reached by various local buses and with extensive free parking in the square)
• Initially take the BLUE trail heading up the road towards Klášter
• After 1 km turn left off the BLUE trail and follow the signs up hill to the chateau
• After visiting the chateau, return back down the hill and continue on the BLUE trail heading towards Klášter
• On reaching the pond, just outside Klášter village turn left off the BLUE trail and return back to Nepomuk along the road – this is marked with green/white nature trail markers, and from the Červený most junction follow the RED trail back to the town center
• To continue the walk to the Angus restaurant in Soběsuky, continue through the town on the RED trail until reaching the village of Kozlovice after 2.7 km
• Just before reaching the village center, turn right off the RED trail to follow a side road that leads to Soběsuky village after 2.6 km
• Catch the bus back from Soběsuky to Nepomuk