*A tour around historic Trutnov, including a walk around the famous 1866 battlefield site: 6 km*

• Trutnov is a historic town on the eastern edge of the Krkonoše mountain area, situated close to an important border crossing between east Bohemia and Poland. That border crossing was used by Prussian troops invading Bohemia during the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. On 27 June 1866, the Prussian Second Army was caught by an Austrian army led by Baron Ludwig von Gablenz and a significant battle was fought in the hills surrounding Trutnov.
• The battle resulted in a tactical victory for the Austrians – their only success against the Prussians during the short war – but it came at a significant cost. Von Gablenz eventually had to retreat, and a week later the war was effectively lost at the decisive Battle of Königgrätz (Hradec Králové), where the Austrians suffered over 30,000 casualties. The loss of the war led ultimately to the reunification of Germany and the permanently reduction of influence of Austria over German-speaking territories.
• The Battle of Turnov was commemorated by the construction in 1868 of a massive cast iron obelisk on Šibeník hill, overlooking Trutnov town. Von Gablenz’s remains were interred beneath the monument after he died in 1874. An educational trail outlining in considerable depth the progression of the battle has been created. It runs for 3 km, starting in Krakonoš Square, passing over Šibeník hill and finishing at the Baroque Chapel of St John the Baptist. There are a number of detailed information boards on the route (with explanations in Czech, German and Polish).
• The historic center of town is also worth exploring, with the large colonnaded Krakonoš Square a significant highlight. There are also segments of the 14th century town walls still standing; best viewed from Vodní street. Trutnov has a number of good cafés and restaurants, of which Coffee & Bar Bruno (map point 3) is particularly worth checking out.
• The route shown in the map below starts and finishes at Trutnov main train station (which has good regional connections as well as with Prague). If driving, there are various car parks around town, including a convenient one next to the neo-Gothic evangelical church (map point 4). The route if starting at the train station is around 6 km long, with 130m of height to ascend-descend. The paths on the nature trail are well maintained and should be manageable with a stroller.

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, head into the center of town to reach Krakonoš Square after 600m
• From there, pick up the battlefield educational trail which is marked with 27.VI.1866 signs and arrows. This finishes at the Baroque chapel of St John the Baptist
• Head back downhill on one of the many side paths (or return back along the educational trail) to reach the town centre
• Return back to the train station by following the riverside footpath, diverting to see the town walls in Vodní street