Along the Rokytna stream from Vysočany to the Malešice botanical garden: 8 km (extendable)

• This is an interesting and varied city trail in Prague 9 District, to the northeast of the city centre. The whole route is a marked educational trail with 17 stops.It follows the Rokytna stream and has an unusually broad range of mostly historical buildings and sites. For an industrial part of the city, the trail has some surprisingly attractive nature beside the meandering stream and includes a stop at the Malešice botanical garden below the 19th century Jirásek Villa. The lovely garden is maintained by a specialist horticultural school and is open to the public.
• The trail also passes site of the 1757 battle of Štěrbohol (sometimes called the battle of Prague), which was fought between the Austrian and Prussian armies in one of the most important early battles in the 7 Years War of 1756-63. This was arguably the first true “World War”, with conflict raging in Central Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. Štěrbohol saw over 30,000 casualties, broadly equally split between the two armies – it was one of the bloodiest engagements of the 18th century in Europe.
• The Prussians under King Frederick the Great were the victors at Štěrbohol and promptly laid siege to Prague. The siege failed as Frederick’s forces were then diverted to flight the battle of Kolín, some 40 km east of Prague (which Frederick lost, resulting in a retreat from Bohemia and the end of his plans to take both Prague and Vienna from the Habsburgs).
• The 8 km trail officially starts in Vysočany (which has metro and tram connections to the centre), but an alternative (slightly shorter) option is to start at Hloubětín metro and pick up the trail at the Kejřův mlýn junction. The trail finishes in Malešice, where there are various bus options back to the centre. the route is almost flat and can be managed with a stroller.
• There are a number of good refreshment options on or near the route, including a surprising ice cream stand directly next to the Rokytna stream (map point 4). In Malešice, try the popular Malešická Tvrz, with its terrace area. Near the Hloubětín metro (map point 3) there is an old coaching inn, the Na staré hospodě, which is worth trying. The inn was rebuilt in a Baroque form after the older medieval inn was burnt down during the 30 Years War. Three Habsburg emperors are reputed to have stayed here during the 18th century.
• If wanting to extend the trip in this part of Prague, consider diverting to visit the Doubravka tower, Prague’s newest lookout tower, which was built on the Horka hill in Hostavice. There is a separate walk describing the route to this lookout, starting in Hloubětín. The two walks can easily be combined into a single 14/15km trip.

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 from Vysočany, pick up the BLUE hiking trail in the direction of Malešice. Stay on this trail all the way to Malešice, which is reached after 8km