Svatý Jan and the limestone quarries of Český kras – a 14 km tour from Srbsko

• There are many deep quarries scattered throughout the terrain of Český kras, testimony to the high quality limestone rock, deposited in the tropical seas which covered the area some 400 millions years ago. Perhaps the most famous is the partly water-filled quarry of Velká Amerika, but there are other equally dramatic, if less well known sites. Several of them are on the scenic trails approaching the historically important monastery complex at Svatý Jan pod Skalou.
• The Svatý Jan monastery is itself dramatically situated beneath a towering limestone crag. The viewpoint from the crag is well frequented (particularly on sunny weekends) despite the stiff climb to the top from the valley floor. The view down onto the roof of the Baroque monastery is justly famous, but more visitors are attracted to Svatý Jan because of its colorful history.
• This was the legendary site where in the 9th century, Bohemia’s first Christian hermit, St Ivan, worshipped in a limestone cave. Today, the cave may be visited and is reputed to contain the oldest stone altar in Bohemia. Directly outside the cave, a spring emerges which is strongly mineralized and was viewed as having healing properties (the water takes over 20 years to seep through the surrounding limestone rock before it emerges from St Ivan’s cave).
• An early medieval chapel was believed to have been built on the site, which then became a Benedictine monastery in the mid 11th century. In the 15th century, the Hussite army destroyed the mother monastery on the island near Davle on the Vltava, and the surviving monks relocated to Svatý Jan. The site became increasingly famous as a pilgrimage location, so the church and monastery buildings were enlarged and reconstructed in the 17th and 18th centuries to their current Baroque forms.
• There are several possible ways to reach Svatý Jan, including along the picturesque Loděnice stream, which flows into the Berounka river near the village of Srbsko. This path is actually used for the return journey in the proposed route below. The final (flat) section along the Berounka is a superb end to an exciting trip.
• The recommended route starts in Srbsko (which has a main line train connection to Prague) and passes the old quarry site of Chlum and its nearby cave, which is famous as the home for a pack of late ice age (approximately 20000 years old) cave hyenas. Woolly rhinoceros, bison, lions and lots of horses have been shown to be on the menu for this particular pack of ferocious scavengers.
• From Chlum, which has a fine viewpoint of its own, the route descends to the village of Hostim, situated on the Loděnice stream before climbing a final time into the hills above Svatý Jan. The route circles around the Solvay limestone quarry site (which was operational from 1918 to 1964). There is now an open air mining museum with still working old machinery and a railway steam engine, which operates at weekends during the summer.
• From Solvay, the trail follows the ridge to reach the viewpoint over the monastery, before descending steeply to the valley. The return journey to Srbsko follows the Loděnice stream through the valley to reach the Berounka river, and the final section is on the asphalt cycle path pack to Srbsko.
• The total length of the suggested route is 14.1 km with 350m of height gained-lost. The paths are either easy forest trails or asphalt paths – the steepest section is the descent from the viewpoint to Svatý Jan, but there are steps. There are various refreshment options along the way, including the U Krobiána pub in Hostim (A Lukáš Hejlík recommendation) and the café just over the bridge in Svatý Jan. A fine way to end this excellent walk might be to take refreshments on the terrace at the Restaurant U Berounky, overlooking the river in Srbsko.

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 in the village of Srbsko, located on the road between Karlštejn and Beroun. There is a very small parking area near the bridge, but the best way to get to Srbsko is to take the scenic train, which runs frequently from Prague main station
• From the train station, join the GREEN hiking trail and cross the river to reach Srbsko village. Continue through the village on the GREEN trail climbing onto the terrace above the Berounka and reaching the Chlum quarry after 1.7km
• There are good views into the quarry and the Český kras hills by taking the unmarked path around the edge of the quarry. The path climbs to a viewpoint which is the summit of Chlum hill (note the cliff edge is unsecured, so care required if taking this path)
• The marked trail passes the Chlum cave , with its important paleontological findings – the cave is not open to the public
• Continue on the GREEN trail for 2.7 km dropping down into the village of Hostim (refreshment option)
• From Hostim, stay on the GREEN trail climbing again into the forests – this is also a marked educational/nature trail with information boards at various points. After 1.8 km reach the Arnika cave (information board) and here laeve the GREEN hiking trail, but staz on the nature trail (marked with green diagonal stripes)
• The nature trail circles through the Solvay mining area, before traversing the ridge towards the famous viewpoint above Svatý Jan. Before reaching the viewpoint, the RED marked descent trail towards Svatý Jan is reached (there are steps down to the right, near an information board) . Only take this path after visiting the viewpoint, which is a further 250m along the ridge
• Descend on the RED trail to Svatý Jan (refreshment options). After visiting the Church and/or St Ivan’s cave, join the YELLOW trail in the direction of Hostim
• The YELLOW trail follws the road to reach Hotim in 1.3 km. From Hostim, stay on the YELLOW trail which becomes a footpath along the attractive Loděnice stream, with its rock walls, occasionally used by climbers
• The trail joins the asphalt cycle path along the Berounka river at V Kozle. Stay on the YELLOW trail for 1.5 km back to Srbsko.