A tour around the historic South Bohemian town of Písek: 4 km
- Písek is an historically important South Bohemian town, situated on the banks of the river Otava. It is most famous for its 13th century stone bridge – the oldest in the country. Indeed, Písek achieved its greatest prominence during the reign of Přemysl King Otakar II during the 13th century, when the town was fortified with stone walls and the construction of a castle, which became a major seat of power in the region.
- The town’s wealth derived from the gold bearing streams in the area and its strategic position on the trade route between Bohemia and the Danube region. Although the area has been occupied since the Stone Age, the Celts were probably the first to actively start gold panning activities and establish a settlement n the site of today’s Písek. The long history of the town is explained in an excellent museum, located directly in the medieval castle. It is well worth a visit.
- The old town is not large and can easily be explored in half a day. The mainline train station is a little out of town (around 1 km from the center). A suggested route is set out below, starting by walking along the Otava embankment, which offers a good view of the old town, to reach the stone bridge. From Spring to Autumn in recent years there has been an interesting exhibition of sand sculptures on the left (west) bank of the river, next to the bridge.
- After crossing the bridge to enter the old town, it is worth visiting the castle and spending some time in the old town streets. There is no special route, but take time to visit the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (map point 9) on a pleasant square just above the main town. There are lots of options for refreshments in Písek, but for good pizza and Italian ice cream, try Pizzeria San Marco (map point 6). An excellent café is located in the town library, the Upekla (map point 8.
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 train station, follow the RED trail for 1:2 kmtowards the town centre, turning left to reach the river at the junction Písek – plav.
- Cross the river on the footbridge and immediately turn right to follow the embankment footpath to reach the old stone bridge after 400m (note the sand carvings exhibition on the far side of the bridge)
- Cross the stone bridge to enter the old town, visit the castle-museum and explore the streets at leisure
- Return back to the station using the RED trail as before