A 7 km tour around the Celtic oppidum of Stradonice from the historic village of Nižbor

The proposed walk starts in the attractive village of Nižbor which has an historical glassworks, an unusual artdeco villa with an observatory built in 1910 and an imposing Baroque chateau overlooking the village and the picturesque Berounka river.
However, Nižbor is most famous as the site of the Stradonice Celtic oppidum. This was one of the largest Celtic oppida (fortified villages) in the country, possibly built by the Boii tribe in the second century BC. The Boii gave their name to the country. Stradonice is famous for the wealth of archaeological finds discovered at the site, including large numbers of ancient coins, some of which were actually minted in forges in the hillfort .
The chateau in Nižbor houses a well organized Celtic museum that is well worth visiting after (or before) a tour of the hillfort site. For those not that excited by ancient history, the hillfort also offers super views of the surrounding Křivoklátsko countryside!
The access path to Stradonice initially follows a public road and then an easy track winds to the hilltop. For the circular route the descent from the hillfort is quite steep and can only be avoided by returning on the outbound route. Back in Nižbor, the short ascent to the Chateau and museum is highly recommended.
The overall route is around 7 km, depending on the start-finishing points, with 220m of height gained-lost. Various refreshment options are available in Nižbor, including the famous railway pub on the opposite side of the river, next to the train station.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

Start the walk in center of the town of Nižbor, where there is a free parking area. Nižbor also has a train station, which can be reached at weekends directly from Prague using the Rakovnický rychlík (or changing at Beroun during weekdays)
Take the RED marked trail towards Stradonice village, initially walking along the main road
After 1.6km reach the village of Stradonice and at the church turn right on the path marked to the oppidum. This leads up through what was originally the fort’s main gate
At various points inside the large fort area there are information signs (in Czech) explaining various features of the archaeological site
After visiting the highest viewpoint – descend on the marked path heading south west. This leads steeply down through the forest to join the YELLOW hiking trail at the Pod hradištěm signpost, close to the town football pitch
At Pod hradištěm turn right onto the YELLOW trail and continue for 1.6 km until reaching the Nižbor – u lípy trail junction
At Nižbor – u lípy, if wanting to visit the chateau and museum, turn left onto the RED trail which leads up some steps directly to the chateau area in 400m. Return back the same way to Nižbor center
If wanting to visit the railway pub, cross the bridge following the YELLOW trail for 600m to reach the train station/restaurant