Ondřejov observatory and Josef Lada’s Hrusice – an 11 km tour

• On 14 January 1996, astronomers at the Ondřejov observatory in Central Bohemia discovered a new asteroid. There was nothing particularly special or unusual about this new celestial body, found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. However, its discoverers at Ondřejov decided to petition the International Astronomical Union to give the asteroid a name. Asteroid 17625 is now known as Josef Lada, in honor of the famous Czech illustrator who was born and lived in the nearby village of Hrusice.
• Lada is perhaps most famous for his illustrations to Jaroslav Hašek‘s World War I novel The Good Soldier Švejk. Hašek and Lada shared a flat in Prague before WWI. But Lada is equally revered for his fairy-tale style portrayal of 19th century village life in Bohemia and for his children’s stories – most notably the travels of Mikeš the talking cat. There is a small memorial/museum dedicated to Josef Lada in the village of Hrusice (it is located 500m from the village center along a side road) .
• It is possible to revisit Mikeš’ travels by hiking the Mikešova cesta – a 20 km one way route starting in Hrusice and finishing in Říčany. However, the route has long sections on public roads, and so a more varied (and shorter) tour to explore the world of Josef Lada is described below.
• The suggested route starts and finishes in Hrusice village, where there is a free parking area. If travelling by train, Hrusovice is a 1.6 km easy walk from the station of Mirošovice u Prahy (which has regular direct trains from Prague).
• From Hrusovice the walk climbs through mixed forests to reach the Ondřejov observatory complex, situated above 500m altitude, with excellent views over the Central Bohemian countryside. The first telescope was built on the site in 1898 by amateur astronomer and entrepreneur J.J. Frič. Today, Ondřejov is the Czech Republic’s main astronomy center. It hosts the country’s largest optical telescope, a number of radio telescopes, and the fascinating grounds are fully open to the public.
• From Ondřejov the suggested route circles back to Hrusice through the picturesque forests and villages that filled Josef Lada’s pictures. Returning to Hrusice there is an option to stop at one of the attractive pubs in the center of the village.

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 the walk in the village of Hrusice, located just off the D1 highway. There is a signposted (free) parking area close to the village center. If travelling by public transport, the easiest route is probably to take the mainline train to Mirošovice u Prahy, and then walk the 1.6 km along the YELLOW trail to get to Hrusice
• From Hrusice village center take the YELLOW hiking trail in the direction of Ondřejov, initially down the main village street, passing the site of Josef Lada’s family house
• After 1.4 km reach the Šmejkalka trail junction and here turn right onto the RED trail (direction Ondřejov)
• Follow the RED trail for 2.5 km as it climbs gently towards the hilltop where the observatory is situated – the site is worth exploring (it has an excellent viewpoint and the various – old and new – telescopes can be visited)
• After exploring the site, return to the RED trail and continue 300m to reach the Ondřejov – hvězdárna signpost. Here turn left onto the YELLOW trail (direction Třemblat)
• The Třemblat signpost is reached after 2.6 km mostly on forest paths. Cross the public road at Třemblat and continue on the YELLOW trail in the direction of Mnichovice
• After 2.6km the trail approaches the public road, and turns sharply right. Do not take this sharp right, but continue on the farm track to reach the public road
• Cross the main road and take the first turn to the right (a quiet public road that is also the first part of the Mikešova cesta). This road leads after 1.2 km directly back to Hrusice village