Along the historic Šembera valley to Český Brod – a 15 km walk

• The Šembera is a small Central Bohemian river that flows in a northeast direction for 28km to reach the Labe (Elbe) close to Nymburk. Despite its small size, the river appears to have been a key territorial marker in prehistoric periods and there are several important prehistoric fortifications close to the river. The first Slavic tribes, which arrived in Bohemia from the 6th century AD onwards, clearly favored this part of the country.
• A marked hiking follows the river closely for its first 15 km until it reaches the historic town of Český Brod. A good starting point for the walk is the village of Kozojedy, situated on the main road from Prague to Kutná Hora. Koyojedz has regular buses from the Háje metro station.
• From Kozojedy the trail first passes the 13th century Romanesque church of St Martin’s, which stands alone in a field, its striking tower visible some distance away – the last remaining building of a now disappeared early medieval village. The church is believed to have been built on a pagan – presumably early Slavic – burial site.
• The section of river which follows after St Martin’s church is the most picturesque, in a steep sided valley with granite rock outcrops and boulders. One the escarpment above the river the remains of an important prehistoric hill fort may be visited on a short detour. This was one of the earliest Slavic sites in the country, dating from the 6th century. The Slavs upgraded the fortifications originally constructed in the Bronze and Iron Ages.
• Further along the river, the trail passes beneath the extraordinary late medieval tower at Tuchoraz. This late 15th century Gothic tower – part of a castle complex now largely demolished – is one one of the best preserved towers from this historical period in the country. It is worth the short diversion away from the main trail.
• The final section of the trail passes two scenic ponds in Tuchoraz before continuing along the public road to reach Český Brod, which has an attractive town square and some well preserved sections of 14th century town walls. There are a number of options for refreshment in the square, before continuing on to the train station (there are regular trains to Prague Masaryk station).
• The total walk length is 15 km (including the short diversions mentioned above) and as it follows the river downstream only involves 50m of climbing – there is 230m of descent. The trails are generally on good forest tracks, but these are quite narrow in the rocky gorge section, and the forest sections can also be very muddy after wet weather.

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 Kozojedy bus stop on the main Prague-Kutná Hora road
• Take the GREEN trail in the direction of Sv. Martin, passing through the village and then the church before reaching the trail junction after 1.9 km
• At the Sv. Martin junction turn onto the RED trail in the direction of Český Brod
• After 1.2 km reach the trail junction Na Zámkách, where there is an option to take a short 400m diversion on the YELLOW trail to visit the Slavic hill fort site. If taking the diversion, return back to Na Zámkách and continue along the RED trail initiallz in the narrow gorge, which then flattens out to meadows and forest sections
• Continue on the RED trail for 5.8 km until reaching the edge of the village of Tuchoraz. On the right side the medieval tower looms above the trees. Take the unmarked path up the hill to visit the tower and then return back to the main RED trail
• Continue on the RED trail past the two village ponds, initially following the public road, to reach the Český Brod main square after 4.2 km (the town walls are 200m from the square, to the east)
• From the square, continue on the RED trail to reach the train station in 600m