Castles on the Ohře: from Budyně to Libochovice – an easy 9 km walk

• This walk is on almost completely flat terrain and follows the Malá Ohře stream as it flows across the main Ohře river’s flood plain to meet the larger river close to the town of Libochovice. It is peaceful countryside, with classic wetland flora. It is a fine walk all year round, but in early spring the meadow flowers make this a particularly appealing route.
• The suggested route covers the first section of the classic long distance trail Zlatá stezka Zemí hradů (“land of castles golden trail”) . This is an 89km long hiking route which connects many of the most important historic monuments in the České středohoří (‘Bohemian middle-mountains’) and passes around many of the conical volcanic peaks that make this landscape so extraordinary.
• The route starts in the town of Budyně nad Ohří, which is dominated by its fine castle that has a colorful history. Originally an early medieval wooden royal castle built in the Přemyslid era, it was reconstructed several times over the following centuries, taking on its current Renaissance appearance in the 16th century, when owned by Jan Zbyněk Zajíc of Hazmburk. Zajíc was a keen alchemist and a friend of Tycho Brahe. He invested vast sums on the reconstruction of his castles and his alchemical pursuits, leaving him severely in debt, finally having to sell Budyně to his creditors. The castle is open for visits, and the museum in the grounds has an interesting exhibition of a Renaissance era alchemical workshop.
• From Budyně, the trail follows a farm track that crosses the meadows next to the Ohře river, passing below the Dvůr Perlová Voda. This large converted farm is now a fine hotel with a restaurant and microbrewery. It is worth a visit.
• The trail continues on the edge of the Ohře floodplain – on the terraces above the path there are traces of the Poplze hillfort, occupied from the Stone Age through to the late Bronze Age – eventually crossing the river to enter the town of Libochovice.
• Libochovice is also dominated by a castle, which has a similar history to that of Budyně, starting life in the 12th century as a wooden fortress, before acquiring a Gothic stone facade. However, the most important reconstruction occurred in the late 17th century, when Libochovice was turned into one of the area’s most important early Baroque chateaux.
• Libochovice chateau – which was the birthplace of the Czech scientist Jan Evangelista Purkyně – is usually open for tours from April to October. There is a J.E.Purkyně exhibition in the chateau and the attractive formal gardens and adjoining English park are normally free to visit from March to December. A short (2 to 3km) extension to visit the park is highly recommended.
• Budyně can be reached by direct bus connection from Prague or, if driving, there is a small parking area behind the church, close to the castle. For the return from Libochovice, the outbound path can be re-walked or a bus taken back from the Libochovice main bus station to Budyně/Prague.
• The trail from Budyně to Libochovice is 9.7 km long, with only 20m of height gained. The route is on good flat forest and farm tracks and should be navigable with a baby stroller.
• There are various refreshment options in addition to the Dvůr Perlová Voda (a Lukáš Hejlík recommendation and which is midway between the start and finish) in both Budyně and Libochovice. In Libochovice, try the newly opened Café Della Porta, which serves excellent coffee and homemade cakes.

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 at the castle of Budyně nad Ohří. Take the RED trail in the direction of Libochovice
• After 300m on the public road, the trail turns right along a flat farm track and continues through the forested area
• After 3.3km the trail reaches the hiking signpost of Kostelec nad Ohří. If wanting to stop at the Dvůr Perlová Voda restaurant, divert left onto the GREEN trail. After 200m arrive at the restaurant/pension/brewery
• Return back to the main RED trail and continue on towards Libochovice. The bridge over the Ohře is reached 4.3km after leaving Kostelec nad Ohří . The Chateau is immediately on the far side of the river
• Cross the bridge and continue past the Chateau, turning right onto the main street of Libochovice, following the BLUE trail markers. The Chateau entrance is 150m along this street
• The bus station is a further 300m along this street, just past the roundabout