*Easy walks in the landscape surrounding Slatiňany chateau: 3 km to 13 km*
- Slatiňany chateau with its beautiful, landscaped garden and English park are hidden jewels in the East Bohemian landscape. The chateau, which is situated around 20 km to the south of Pardubice, has a Renaissance origin, but its present-day form is due to the more recent work of the Princes of Auersperg, one of the wealthiest of the noble families in the Austro-Hungary Empire. The Auerspergs acquired Slatiňany chateau in the middle of the 18th century and it remained the main summer residence for one branch of the family for nearly 200 years.
- Various tours of the interior of the chateau are available and the (highly recommended) garden may also be accessed separately (for a fee). Next to the chateau are he extensive stable areas, which are now part of the National Stud farm, based in Kladruby (a UNESCO World Heritage site).
- The larger English park area and surrounding woodland (which is part of the Železné hory PLA) is free to access and home to a large number of footpaths and bike trails. A large variety of walks of different lengths can therefore be constructed in this attractive hilly landscape.
- For those wanting an easy short walk (after exploring the chateau gardens and park area – which is perhaps a 3 km walk in total) consider taking the gravel footpath – marked as wheelchair accessible – to the Bára lookout, some 2.5 km from the chateau park area. This unique modern lookout tower (see picture below) offers an exceptional panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. The trail passes the unusual Kočičí hrádek constructed over a hundred years ago by an Auersperg Princess, for the castle children to play in.
- An additional easy walk starting from the chateau, follows the attractive Chrudimka river upstream for 1.5 km to reach a sandstone cliff, which is a popular rock-climbing area. Next to the cliffs is the stylish and popular Kůlna Bar, with its outside seating area (map point 10).
- The combination of these three short walks (chateau+park, Bára lookout and Chrudimka riverside path) creates a very attractive 13 km tour with only around 130m of height to ascend-descend. All of the paths are easy and can be managed with a stroller.
- For refreshments, the pleasant café Klein is close to the chateau entrance (map point 3). At the Bára lookout there is an excellent snack bar (only open seasonally in good weather) and on the riverside path, next to the climbing rock, try the stylish modern Bar Kůlna (map point 12), with its outside terrace area.
- The 13 km estimate assumes a start at the Slatiňany train station (which has regular connections with Pardubice). The station is a little over 1 km from the chateau. Accordingly, if driving and parking in the paid area next to the stud farm, the trip will be 2 km shorter.
Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz 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 hiking trail to reach the chateau after 1.3 km
- Access to the gardens requires a ticket (but is worthwhile). The Gardens have an ‘exit only’ turnstile at the far end. If not planning on visiting the gardens, the YELLOW trail follows the outside fence to reach the garden exit
- To visit the Bára lookout, follow the marked wheelchair route, which leads directly from the chateau park to the tower in around 2 km
- For the riverside walk, return back to the chateau and join the BLUE hiking trail heading towards the Škrovád junction. The climbing rock and Bar Kůlna are located 2 km upstream
