A 5 km walk around the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kutná Hora

In the high Middle Ages, Kutná Hora was second only to Prague in terms prestige amongst Bohemian cities. Its wealth derived from the huge silver deposits discovered in the surrounding hills. In the 13th century, it is believed that around a third of all silver mined in Europe came from Kutná Hora.
Today, the city is recognized worldwide for its well-preserved medieval center, with a rich variety of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The city has been included in the prestigious list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The standout architectural jewel is the late Gothic Cathedral of St. Barbora. If possible, try to catch the cathedral in the evening light.
The historic centre of the city is not huge, but the main public transport links (bus and train stations etc) are a little out of town so a tour of the main sites can be around 5 km. The route shown in the map below (which starts at the bus station) first visits the Italian Court – the site of the medieval Royal Mint. From here there is a fine view over the rest of the city.
Below the Italian Court is a reconstructed park area and the suggested route traverses the park before climbing back up to the area around the St. Barbora Cathedral, including the gardens of the Jesuit collage. The route follows some sections of the Silver Path, an educational trail documenting the history of silver mining in the area.
There are many good refreshment options in Kutná Hora, but if visiting on a warm day, try the excellent Zmrzlinárna Kutná Hora (ice cream shop) which is tucked away in a side street close to the Italian Court. For a nice café, try Kafirnictví on the corner of Palackého square.

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

Starting at the bus station, follow the BLUE trail for 600m to reach the main town square, Palackého náměstí
From there, follow the RED hiking trail marks to get to the Italian Court (Royal Mint). Look out for the viewpoint behind the church of St Jakub (map point 3)
From the Italian Court, descend to the park area and cross the park following the RED hiking trail
Cross the stream on the bridge and then follow the education trail (green-white diagonal stripes) as it heads towards the Cathedtral, winding on the path through the old vineyard and past one of the medieval silver mines
Head towards the cathedral, circling around the building before visiting the Jesuit gardens on the terrace next to the cathedral
Return back to Palackého náměstí along the side streets, if desired following the Sliver educational path markings