Along the Sázava river from from Jílové to Davle: 16 km of views and a thousand years of history

• This walk follows the most spectacular section of the Sázava river as it passes through dramatic dark ravines (and a number of historically significant sites), before finally joining the Vltava at Davle.
• It is a one-way route, requiring use of the railway line from Prague to either Jílové u Prahy or Kamenný Přívoz (and back from Davle, on the same line).
• The route described below starts at the Jílové train station, initially heading towards the historic 17th century gold mines (Štola sv. Antonína Paduánského and Štola sv. Josefa, both of which can be visited in season)
• The route then passes under the Žampach viaduct (which is apparently the tallest stone railway bridge in the country, built at the end of the 19th century) and descends to the north bank of the Sázava.
• After a short section along the north bank, the route crosses the river at Kamenný Přívoz, and then follows the terraces on the south bank, offering several spectacular viewpoints.
• As the river nears its confluence with the Vltava, the terrain opens out into fields and pastures.
• The route crosses to the north bank again at Pikovice, and follows the historic railway to Davle, passing the site of the oldest male monastery in the country (constructed around 1000AD by the Benedictine order, on the island at Sekanka).
• The total walk length is 16.4km on mostly easy terrain, although there are some short step sections up and down on the south side of the river, and the forest paths can be slippery in wet weather. On the route, a total of 300m is ascended, and 400m descended (as the route follows the river downstream).
• The walk can be shortened by catching the train back at Petrov u Prahy (rather than Davle) reducing the distance by 3 km
• Refreshments should be available on the route at Kamenný Přívoz, Pikovice (requiring a short diversion from the route) and at Davle. In Davle try the excellent (Hejlík recommended) Greek restaurant, Taverna Thessaloniki.

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 at the Jílové u Prahy railway station (there are regular direct connections from the Prague main station, with a journey time of around 80 minutes)
• From the train station follow the yellow diagonal striped (diversion) trail marks in the direction of Štola sv. Josefa (note; this is the shortest route to the mines – the normal YELLOW trail mark takes a longer route). If preferring to avoid the section involving the historical gold mines, and wanting to get directly to the river, then follow the GREEN trail from the station to reach the river (at the Žampach signpost) in 1km. This reduces the total walk length by 1.5km
• If wanting to view the 18th century gold mines, then from the station follow the yellow diagonal marked route through the forest, passing under the railway, reaching the first of the mines (Štola sv. Antonína Paduánského) after 1.7km
• The second mine open to visitors (Štola sv. Josefa) is 100m further along the trail. Although the current mine workings date from the 18th century, it is likely they were built upon the foundations of medieval and possibly even earlier workings
• From the mines, return along the main YELLOW hiking trail heading downhill towards the river, passing under the impressively tall Žampach viaduct (built in the last years of the 19th century, and believed to be the tallest railway bridge in Central Europe)
• After 800m reach the signpost of Žampach (at the river bank) and join the GREEN trail in the direction of Kamenný Přívoz
• Follow this section of the Jilovské zlaté doly path route along the north bank of the Sázava for 1.3 km, passing the popular Restaurace U Vemenáče with its summer terrace for refreshments (located 100m before the road bridge over the river)
• Cross over the Sázava on the road bridge, still on the GREEN trail (now joined with the RED trail)
• Immediately after crossing the river, turn right and follow the RED trail (this is a section of the Posázavská cesta)
• The trail rises gradually, initially through the residential area and then into the forest and the terraces above the river. This 9km section of path offers several excellent viewpoints as it climbs and then descends to the pastures and village of Pikovice (note: there are two steep step sections and a short uphill bank – with a protecting rope – to navigate in this section)
• At Pikovice stay on the RED trail and cross the pedestrian bridge across the river. Immediately after crossing, turn left, still following the RED trail (which is now also a cycle path). If wanting to shorten the walk at this point it is possible to catch the train from the Perov u Prahy station, rather than walk the final 3km to Davle
• The final section of path follows the railway line and leads after 3.4km to the train station at Davle (for the regular direct trains back to Prague – approximately 50 minutes journey time)
• On the opposite side of the river, shortly before reaching Davle station, is the raised ‘peninsular’ on which is located the important archaeological site of Sekanka, the early medieval village associated with the 11th century Benedictine monastery that was built on the neighboring island (the island is on the Vltava side so not visible from the route). The site was probably abandoned in the 14th century, for unknown reasons.

Views of the Sázava (picture on bottom left from Petra Di Nicola)