A short walk around historic Žamberk, with its beautiful English park area: 4 km
- Žamberk is an attractive mid-sized eastern Bohemian town with a long history. Originally founded as part of a wave of German colonists who were invited into the country by Bohemia’s 13th century Přemyslid rulers, Žamberk had its fair share of subsequent challenges. It was hit by multiple Plague outbreaks, particularly in the 16th century, and more than half the town was burned down during the 30 Years War. The Renaissance castle was destroyed by the Swedish army in 1643, resulting in a Baroque reconstruction that has shaped its current day appearance.
- A jewel in the crown of Žamberk’s attractions is the large English park established in front of the chateau at the beginning of the 19th century. The wide open spaces, mature trees and perfect grass make this a great picnic spot. There are various other points of interest in and around the town, for those interested in exploring further. On the western edge of town, Rozálka hill is topped by an unusual viewing tower constructed in 1934 to resemble a Hussite tower. The tower is open to the public in the summer period. Next to the tower is a fine early Baroque chapel, erected by the town to give thanks for avoiding an outbreak of Plague in 1682.
- Žamberk’s most famous native is probably the 18th century cleric and scientist, Prokop Diviš, who experimented with electricity and is credited with inventing the lightening rod. Diviš’ family house is situated 2 km to the west of the town center on the banks of the Divoká Orlice river. It is now a museum and there is a replica of his famous weather machine in the garden.
- The suggested route around town shown in the map below is around 4 km long, with just a short climb of 60m up to the viewing tower. The route can be managed with a stroller, but note that the shortest route up or down from the tower is on a footpath across the field. Note that the museums and tower are usually only open from the late spring onwards.
- Žamberk has a number of good refreshment spots. A couple of nice cafés and an ice cream booth are marked on the map below at map points 4, 8 and 10 respectively.
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
- Žamberk is on a regional bus and train line, with good connections to Hradec Králové. However, most visitors to the town will probably drive, in which case there is ample paid parking in main square
- There is no well marked trail around town, so it is best to identify the points of interest in advance and create a route using the mapy.com phone application