A walk around the First Republic Stachelberg bunker complex at the edge of Krkonoše: 3 km

• The remarkable Stachelberg fortress, situated at the foot of the Krkonoše mountains a few kilometers north of Trutnov, is part of the extensive border fortifications constructed by the Czechoslovak First Republic government in the years leading up to the Second World War. The fortress, designed to be the largest in the country, was never finished. Construction was halted after the 1938 Munich Agreement, which led to the immediate annexation of part of the country by the Nazi regime (including most of the fortified border zones).
• The fortress, with its 12-bunker complex and 3.5 kilometers of underground tunnels, was designed to house up to a thousand troops. It never saw action and for years after the war was used to store hazardous chemicals. The complex has gradually been made accessible to the public over the past twenty years by a group of enthusiasts and guided tours are available from April to December.
• Even if not taking the underground tour, a walk around the site on the maintained paths is worth doing. An 11 km educational trail which follows the fortification line in the Trutnov region passes through the Stachelberg complex. For enthusiasts of the period, this is definitely worth following. However, a shorter version just exploring the Stachelberg complex is shown in the map below. This (3 km) route visits a number of the restored bunkers set in lovely countryside. The route is on good paths that can be managed with a stroller.

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 parking are just below the fortress on road 300m, 7 km north of Trutnov (there is a bus stop directly at the site, with connections from Trutnov)
• Follow the RED hiking trail in the direction of Trutnov. It is 700m from the parking/bus stop to reach the main bunker, turning left at the Eliška viewing tower
• Foor a nice view of the Krkonoše hills (from the ground rather than the tower!), from the tower follow the RED trail towards Trutnov for 200m
• Return back to the parking area along the RED trail. It is worth following the RED trail in the opposite direction to visit at least one of the restored independent bunkers in the hills to the west of the fortress. Bunker T-S 81a (pictured below – map point 5) has been well restored and has an interesting replica of a prototype battle dome for a heavy machine gun.