*A circuit around Ostrava’s (pre) historic Landek coal-mining area: 6 km*

• Landek is a forested hill located close to Ostrava overlooking the Odra river. It is probably best known today as the site of a historic coal mine first opened in 1792. It is now a popular mining museum – the largest in the country. There is an interesting educational trail around the whole hill (with Czech language info boards), which can be combined with a visit to the museum.
• Landek is actually the easternmost point in the Bohemian massif, a geological formation of European importance, dating from around 350 million years ago. It was during this geological period (the Carboniferous) that Europe’s coal deposits were created. Most coal from this period is buried deep underground, but Landek is unusual in that here the coal seams actually rise to the surface. The consequence is that coal appears to be have been extracted and burnt on this site from the very earliest of prehistoric times.
• Landek is a world famous archaeological site, due to the discovery in the 1920’s of a Stone Age mammoth hunter camp. The site dates from some 30000 years ago and there is evidence the hunters burnt coal to keep warm in the Ice Age landscape, potentially the earliest known case of the use of this fuel. Equally important was the discovery by archaeologists in 1953 of the ‘Venus of Petřkovice’, a small figure carved from iron ore. The headless figure of a young woman, dating from around 25000 years ago and discovered beneath a mammoth tooth, is a unique piece of Paleolithic art – the only ‘slim’ Venus so far discovered from this archaeological period.
• Landek can be reached by bus easily from Ostrava center. There is a parking area close to the museum but it fills up quickly at weekends. From the nearest bus stop (Petřkovice) it is a 6 km circuit around the hill, including a visit to the mining museum. After a flat section, partly beside the Odra river, the route climbs up the eastern side of the hill. At the summit there is a small viewing tower. The return route passes various historic mines.
• The total route involves just over 100 of ascent/descent, none of which is difficult (if staying on the main path – there are various unmarked side paths which are steeper). There are a couple of snack bars open seasonally, but for a proper meal try the restaurant Harenda (map point 3) located next to the museum,

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 Petřkovice trail junction, follow the RED hiking trail into the museum/park area, which is reached after 1 km
• From the museum continue on the RED trail for 1.6 km to reach the Koblov junction
• At Koblov, turn sharply left onto the GREEN trail, which leads to the summit area and then back down to the Petřkovice junction after 2.9 km