On the trail of Václav Havel in the Krkonoše foothills – 6 to 14 km walks near Mladé Buky

• In 1974, the 38 year old playwright Václav Havel started work at the Krakonoš brewery in Trutnov, a short drive from his home, a modest country house called Hrádeček. At the time, Havel’s plays were banned from being performed in his homeland and he was forbidden to travel abroad by the Communist regime.
• Havel must have spent some of his free time walking the trails around his home, near the small ski resort of Mladé Buky, located in the foothills below the Krkonoše mountains. On Havel’s doorstep lay the ruined walls of Břecštejn castle hidden in the forest amongst the sandstone rock formations. It is peaceful countryside and definitely worth exploring, if staying in the area.
• A 10 – 14 km educational trail has been recently created starting in Mladé Buky, which tours around the hill of Pekelský vrch and passes various landmarks, including Havel’s country home and the Břečstejn ruins. This is a good option for a medium length walk, especially if visiting or staying in the nearby stylish golf-ski hotel, Grund Resort.
• For a shorter – 6 km – walk (involving fewer sections along the public road and avoiding the Mladé Buky ski slopes, but still visiting the main landmarks) start at or near the Peklo – autokemp trail junction, located on a side road just outside Trutnov. There are two pension-restaurants close to the trail junction offering refreshment options.
• The suggested route for the shorter walk initially climbs through the forest towards the summit of Pekelský vrch, passing the deep sandstone cave, Pekelská jeskyně. From the hill top – with its good views towards the Krkonoše mountains – the trail circles around the Hrádeček nature park, passes Havel’s home (not open to visitors) and finally visits the Břečstejn ruins. The small castle dates from at least the 14th century and is romantically situated on a sandstone outcrop.
• The total route – including short diversions to the landmarks – is 6.7 km on generally easy forest trails and short sections on a quiet public road. Total height gained/lost on the route is 230m.

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 at the Peklo – autokemp trail junction, situated next to the Penzion – Restaurace Peklo. There should be parking spots near the junction
• Cross the public road and take the unmarked footpath immediately opposite the turning to the Peklo restaurant
• After 180m of climbing the path meets the marked education trail (green diagonal striped trail markings)
• Turn right onto this trail. After 400m there is an optional diversion to the right to visit the Pekelská cave (information board in Czech)
• From the cave continue up the hill following the educational trail marks to reach after 800m the GREEN hiking trail. Here there is an option to continue on the educational trail for a further 150m to reach the Pekelský vrch (583 m) (583 m) hilltop, with its views over the Krkonoše mountains
• Return back to the GREEN hiking trail and take this path in a westwards direction (turn to the right if returning from the Pekelský vrch hilltop)
• Continue on the GREEN trail for 1.8 km to reach the trail junction of Nad Hrádečkem. Here turn left onto the BLUE trail in the direction of Břecštejn
• After a 300m section on the public road, the trail passes Havel’s country house (information board) and follows a farm track for 200m to reach the Břecštejn castle ruins
• From Břecštejn, the BLUE trail descends to to the public road and then follows the road for 1 km to return to the Peklo – autokemp trail junction. Note: 700m after leaving the castle ruin, there is an optional detour, following the educational trail markings, through a small sandstone rock section