A circular 5 km walk to the Priessnitz spa from Jeseník
- One of the country’s most famous spas sits on the hillside above the town of Jeseník at an altitude of 620m. A circular walk from the valley up to the intriguing spa area makes for a gentle and short trip when visiting the Jeseníky mountains.
- The spa was founded by Vincenz Priessnitz, whose family farmed the hillside around the village of Grafenberg at the end of the 18th century. At that time the area was part of the autonomous Austrian Silesian region. Priessnitz was a pioneer in water treatment for illnesses and injuries and he is viewed today as the founder of modern hydrotherapy.
- One attraction of the Priessnity spa is the opportunity to visit the well known Vinckovo coffee house, which serves speciality coffees and excellent homemade deserts. It is located in the family home (also a museum) of Vincenz Priessnitz.
- If considering this short walk starting in the historic town of Jeseník, which was probably founded in the late 13th century, take a moment to visit the impressively preserved castle on the edge of the town. This important 14th century ‘water’ (moated) castle now houses the town museum.
- The circular walk up to the spa area from the Jeseník train station totals 5.7 km (including a short diversion to the town castle) and involves 180m of ascent-descent. The paths are all easy, but suggested path up to the spa is on quite steep forest-meadow paths, so not probably not suitable for strollers. If driving, there are several parking areas around town, including one near the castle on Štefánikova street.
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, follow the YELLOW trail for 500m to reach the Jeseník – pod nemocnicí trail junction. If wanting to visit the castle, continue on the YELLOW trail over the stream to reach the castle in a further 500m. Thn return back to Jeseník – pod nemocnicí
- To walk up to the spa area, follow the BLUE hiking trail up the hill for 1.9 km
- In the centre of the spa area, at the Lázně Jeseník – vých trail signpost, turn left onto the RED trail heading down a series of steps. On the right, after 40m, is the Vinckovo café and family house of Vincenz Priessnitz
- Continue on the RED trail down the steps and after 2.1 km return back to the train station
