A walk around the historic riverside town of Nymburk and the Na Ostrově park: 4 km

• In the high Middle Ages, the town of Nymburk was one of the most important in the Bohemian lands. Its impressive fortifications, lined with fifty towers and surrounded by two deep moats fed from the Labe river, was a key stronghold protecting the approach to Prague from the east. The fortifications were largely destroyed during the 30 Years war in the 17th century, but several towers and a connecting wall were restored in the early 20th century. Nymburk was settled as early as the Neolithic period and the Medieval walls may have built on the remnants of prehistoric fortifications.
• The original medieval ground plan and the two remarkable moats have survived to modern times. An exploration of the town reveals a wealth of unique buildings from different periods, including the 13th century Gothic church of St. Giles and the rare Renaissance town hall. Combine a walk around town with a stroll through the Na Ostrově English style park on the opposite side of the river to achieve a completely flat, but varied 4 km walk.
• Nymburk can quickly be reached by direct train from Prague (although there are also a variety of parking options in the town). There are several good refreshment options in town but if visiting in the spring or summer, try the excellent Zmrzlinárna Nymburk for its wide selection of homemade ice creams, located just behind the Neo Renaissance high school building (which was attended by famous Czech author Bohumil Hrabal in the early 20th century) .

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

• Starting at the train station, join the YELLOW hiking trail in the direction of the town center. The two moats are crossed after about 500m
• Just after crossing the second moat, the trail turns left and circles around town passing through the medieval fortifications to reach the river
• Continue on the YELLOW trail crossing the river on the footpath on top of the impressive lock system
• On the south side of the river is the English style public park area, Na Ostrově, situated behind the Empire style hotel Ostrov
• After exploring the park, head towards the main road bridge over the Labe. The road bridge cannot be crossed on foot. instead there is a new footbridge 100m downstream from the main bridge
• Croos on the footbridge, passing the the neo Renaissance high school building on the left (the ice cream shop is 50m on the left side)
• Follow the RED marked trail back into the center of town, passing through the main square and then past the Gothic church of St Giles
• Return back to the station following the BLUE hiking trail