Walks around Přimda, the oldest stone castle in Bohemia: 3 km to 8 km

• Travelers along the D5 highway near Rozvadov may have noticed a castle tower appearing above the tree line, just to the south of the highway. This is the medieval castle of Přimda and it is considered the oldest stone castle tower in the country. It dates from 1121, when an unknown German lord started construction of a powerful fortress on a prominent hill near the border. Shortly thereafter, Bohemia’s Přemsylid ruler, Vadislav I captured the strategic site, which guarded the important trade route to Nuremburg. He consequently acquired a German built stone castle, whose Romanesque form is quite unique in the country. In subsequent centuries, the powerful castle was occasionally used as a royal prison.
• The impressive granite tower is sometimes open for tours of the upper floors. See the website for opening hours. The route to the castle starts in the village of Přimda, just below the hill. There is an 8 km marked educational trail around the castle area, with circles the hill and gives a full history of the area and forest landscape.
• Přimda can be reached by regular bus from Tachov (which has a main line train station). For drivers, there are various parking spots in the center of the village, including by the useful information office. The simple walk to the summit and back to Přimda village is just under 3 km long. The longer trail is mostly on easy forest footpaths, and involves 250m of ascent – descent. There are several refreshment options in Přimda village, including the well regarded motel Modra Lguna, which is at the start of trail.
• If touring western Bohemia and would like to spend a night or two in the area, consider a stop at the atmospheric Hotel Stary Mlýn, just off the D5 highway on the road to Přimda. It is an excellent restaurant with a small terrace, and a very English style bar area…

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 center of Přimda village, initially following the main street, turning right at the motel Modra Laguna after 200m
• The trail then leads quite steeply up the hill for 600m to reach the small chapel. Here turn right onto the path which leads up to the tower in 500m
• Return back to the chapel after visiting the castle. For the longer (8 km) tour, follow the educational trail as it circles around the hill – continue straight on an the chapel
• For the simple, there and back walk, turn left at the chapel, and return back to the village on the outbound route