Walks above the vineyards of Viničné Šumice on the edge of Drahanská vrchovina: 11 km to 16 km

• The Drahanská vrchovina is a range of low hills in the in the middle of Moravia, which begins in the vicinity of Brno and runs northeast towards Olomouc. The hills are mostly made up of sedimentary rocks and part of the range includes the world famous limestone cave systems in the Moravský kras protected landscape area.
• At the edge of the range, the Viničné Šumice is one of Moravia´s most northerly wine villages. Technically part of the Velkopavlovice wine-growing region, Viničné Šumice´s vineyards are unusual as they lie on the terraces of the Drahanská vrchovina overlooking the lowland Vyškov Gap – once a major prehistoric transport route and today occupied by the D1 highway.
• A very nice trail runs along the terrace from the village of Vítovice and offers super views over the vineyards and the Vyškov Gap. The route then heads into the forested Drahanská hills, which were populated in prehistoric and medieval times with a number of hillforts. The most famous of these old forts is called Vildenberk, probably constructed in the 13th century. Only the moat and earthen rampart walls remain of what was, until its abandonment in the 15th century, one of Moravia´s largest castles.
• Several different routes are available which can be used to circle back to Vítovice. These range from 11 km to 16 km. The longer option – shown in the map below – drops down into Viničné Šumice village to visit the well-regarded brewery restaurant, named after the Vildenberk fortress, before heading deeper into the forestd hills. The suggested route then joins a marked nature trail with info boards (in Cz only) relating to the natural springs that emerge in these hills.
• Overall, this is an easy route in attractive forested countryside on trails that are rarely frequented but worth exploring. The full route involves just over 300 m of height to ascend-descend, none of which is steep. The paths are a mix of asphalt forest roads and forest footpaths. For refreshments, try the brewery in Viničné Šumice (but note it may only be open early afternoon at weekends).

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

• From the village of Vítovice, join the YELLOW trail heading towards Vildenberk. At the Nad vinohrady junction, reached after 2.5 km there is the the option to drop down into Viničné Šumice or continue on to Videnberk via the GREEN trail
• If dropping down to the village, continue along the main rod to rejoin the YELLOW at the Vinič. Šumice – bus, točna junction
• Continue on the YELLOW (or GREEN, if taking the shorter route) until the Vildenberk – zříc., odb.junction where the diversion to the hillfort begins (blue markers)
• From the Vildenberk – zříc junction continue on the BLUE trail for 3.4 km to reach the Jelenice – lov. chata junction and there turn right onto the YELLOW trail heading towards Kalečník – rozc, which is reached after 2.1 km
• At Kalečník – rozc, join the RED trail which returns to Vítovice after 4.3 km