Exploring the UNESCO listed horse breeding landscape at Kladruby nad Labem: 5 km

• In 2019 the national horse breeding farm at Kladruby nad Labem and its surrounding landscape was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list. The historical farm and attached chateau can be visited on a (popular) guided tour, which can be sold out, so booking in advance is recommended.
• Even for those not particularly into horses, the landscape is interesting and resembles a huge English-style park, with tree-lined avenues, pools, meadows and pastures. A 5km nature trail with 12 explanatory boards has recently been created to explore key features of the landscape and gives a good indication why the area has been inscribed in the prestigious World Heritage list.
• Kladruby was established as a horse breeding area by the noble Pernštejn family in the 15th century and it became an Imperial stud farm during the reign of Rudolf II. The unique white eared horses of Kladruby were bred to pull ceremonial carriages throughout the Habsburg Empire and are still highly prized for their calm nature, endurance, and relative speed.
• The educational trail starts at the information center at the stud farm and continues through the pastures along mostly unpaved tracks and returns to Kladruby past blind branches of the nearby Labe river, some of which are now attractive pools. Although the official site does not recommend the route for those walking with strollers, the completely flat paths should be manageable without difficulties. The total route is just over 5 km long and there are refreshments available at the farm or near the car park.

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

• Kladruby nad Labem is not easily reached by public transport. There is a local bus connection, but the nearest train station (at Řečany nad Labem) is some 3 km walk away. For drivers there is an extensive free parking area next to the farm
• Start the trail at the courtyard in front of the main farm area and head past the chateau following the footpaths through the fenced pastures
• The route runs clockwise and is easiest followed by downloading the prepared map, as the trail does not (yet) have trail markers or appear on mapy.cz (the route shown in the map above is an approximation of the actual trail)