*Short walks and surprises near the South Moravian town of Židlochovice: 5 km to 15 km*

• Židlochovice is a small Moravian town located 18 km to the south of Brno, just off the D2 highway. It is definitely worth a short stop when travelling in the region. There area few pleasant surprises which should make the visit memorable.
• The town is probably most famous for its Baroque chateau, which was given an Empire-style makeover in the mid 19th century, when it became an important hunting residence owned by the Hapsburg-Lorraine dynasty. The chateau is today used by the Czech forestry commission which maintains the park area. This is inhabited by some quite magnificent animals (as can be seen in the picture below). The chateau itself is not usually open to the public, but the English-style park is freely accessible year round.
• In addition to a nice walk around the park (which will not take much more than 30 minutes) it is worth stopping to view one of the South Moravia’s most attractive Baroque churches, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (map point 6). This high Baroque gem was designed by the well-known Austrian architect, Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, who was responsible for many of Vienna’s most famous buildings.
• Finally, for a slightly longer walk, it is worth hiking up the hill to the east of town, Výhon (355m), which is the highest in area. On top, an unusual cylindrical viewing was constructed in 2009. It offers an impressive panoramic view, particularly towards Austria and the Pálava hills. A number of circuits around the hill are possible, starting from the centre of Židlochovice.
• The most direct route leads to the hill top in around 2 km. From there, several trails follow the ridge line and then drop back to the valley at different point. The route shown in the map below is around 7 km long (this can be shortened to around 5 km, by taking a side path down a little earlier on the ridge – at map point 8). The longest circuit (approximately 13 km) follows the ridge-line for its whole length.
• None of the trails are difficult or steep and these are definitely all season walks. For refreshments, don’t miss the cosy Bystrá Židle, just opposite the chateau entrance.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Židlochovice is on a number of local bus routes, but the best way of getting there by problic transport is probably by train, via Brno. For drivers, there are a number of parking areas in the centre of town
• The walk around chateau park is unmarked, but it is not a large area and can be accessed from eiher side of the chateau, via gates. The chateau entrance is very close to the bus station
• To walk up to the tower on Výhon by the most direct route, follow the GREEN trail from the bus station. It is marked towards Výhon. It is worth diverting for a couple of hundred metres to see the church (map point 6) using the RED trail
• Once at the hill top, for the short circuits, stay on the GREEN trail heading towards the Skalky junction, which is reached after 1.4 km. At Skalky, join the YELLOW trail heading back towards Židlochovice, which is reached in around 3 km
• If wanting the shortest (5 km) loop, drop down into the valley at map point 8. The path follows an education trail (Czech only info boards) and joins up with the YELLOW trail heading back into town