home Job Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland. Natural monument czech switzerland

Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland. Natural monument czech switzerland

There is in the north-west of the Czech Republic in the Usti region, on the very border with Germany, an amazingly beautiful protected place, which is called nothing less than Czech-Saxon Switzerland. This corner is almost untouched wildlife, a magical protected park that simultaneously covers the territory of two countries - the Czech Republic and Germany.

Many tourists from all over the country and beyond come here every day to enjoy the cleanest air and the wild beauty of the reserve, which is called the Czech Switzerland Park. It is interesting that part of the protected lands that ended up on the territory of neighboring Germany is called Saxon Switzerland.

Why are these places so attractive for those who are tired of civilization?

Czech Switzerland - brief description

It all started many thousands of years ago - it was then that from rocks of volcanic origin on the lands of the present national park amazingly beautiful canyons, crevices, gorges were formed, sandstone rocks unusual in their shape and structure, as if endowed with a human soul...

Dozens of centuries passed, and by 2000, a national park with an area of 80 sq. km appeared on the map of the country of beer and dumplings. - Czech paradise or Czech Switzerland. But long before this, a small urban village - Grzhensk - became a real tourist center, a pier for everyone who wanted to relax away from noisy cities. It is well developed here tourism infrastructure and, despite its modest size, in this town, always filled with tourists, there is always a place to stay for the night or just have an inexpensive and tasty snack.

Most often, guests come from the capital to admire the protected paradise, and the trip can take only one day. But if you want to have a full and quality rest, it is best to book accommodation in a boarding house or a hotel room for at least 2-3 days, since there is really something to catch the eye of even a very experienced traveler.

Attention! In Grzhensk you can buy cute souvenirs in the form of gnomes and other fairy-tale characters for children or just as a good memory.

Sights of Czech Switzerland

So, you are eager to see with your own eyes what other guests of this magical place. Then let's together make a list of attractions in the reserve that are simply prohibited by the law of conscience and honor to miss!

Advice! If you want to fully enjoy the bright colors of the luxurious nature of these places, go to Czech Switzerland in the fall, in September or October.

Thanks to numerous signs scattered throughout the protected park, you can choose for your company both more complex, longer, 15-25 km long, and simple routes in Czech Switzerland, 8-12 km long.

Pravcicka Gate

There is a special rock in Czech Switzerland, which is proudly called the symbol of the entire reserve. This is “Pravchitsky brana”, which in Russian sounds like “Pravchitsky gate”. The unique rock is the highest in all of Europe and looks like a monumental sandstone arch created by Mother Nature, 16 meters high and as much as 26 meters long. The width of the rock structure is more than 4 meters

Getting to the Gate will not be difficult - from Grzhensk, where you can leave your car, there is a walking trail about 4 km long. to get closer to the attraction, you will have to pay entrance tickets for 75 CZK and although you are not allowed to climb the Gate, it is worth admiring it up close. Entrance ticket for children costs 25 CZK.

From the grandiose Pravchitsky Gate you can easily reach its smaller copy with a height of only 2 meters - this is the so-called Small Pravchitsky Gate. There is a fairly wide path leading to them, suitable for cycling.

Advice! Do not confuse this trail with the narrow path marked in red on the maps of the area, otherwise you will have to wander through the mountains for about an hour, although in the end you will still be able to reach the Small Pravchitsky Gate.

Schaunstein Castle

Near the Small Gate you can see a sign leading to the rock castle - this is the robber castle of Shunstein, shrouded in secrets. The road to it is quite difficult, about a kilometer long, you will have to climb steep steps and even squeeze through tunnels between the rocks. But, believe me, the views of extraordinary beauty and scale that open from the observation deck of the castle are worth the effort!

Castle "Falcon's Nest"

Very close to the Pravchitsky Gate, right in the rock in 1882, a castle with the romantic name “Falcon's Nest” was built, more reminiscent of a large hunting lodge. It has been surprisingly well preserved to this day, and today, within the walls of the ancient castle - the family estate of the Clary-Aldringens, you can enjoy dinner in a magnificently decorated restaurant overlooking the whole of Czech Switzerland. Also in the Falcon's Nest it is worth visiting a museum dedicated to this region.

Mill "Dolsky Mlyn"

This once very popular mill has now turned into ruins, but even today residents of these areas remember how many years ago the fairy tale “The Arrogant Princess” was filmed here. It’s hard to believe that the building, lost in the green forests, was once a very busy place and a crossroads center for several centuries in a row.

Village "Hrzypska"

The colorful authentic village was loved by guests of this region because it was where an ancient glass workshop once functioned, whose glassblowers produced “Bohemian glass” back in the 15th century. It seems incredible, but the workshop still cordially opens its doors to tourists today: here you can intelligently read account books of past centuries, see live how the most famous glass in the Czech Republic is blown, and at the same time buy your favorite glasses, vases or figurines made of crystal or Bohemian glass

Abandoned silver mines

Arranged in Czech Switzerland and very interesting excursions to ancient mines where silver was once mined. You can personally feel like a real miner by putting on a safety helmet and descending into the depths of the mine under the supervision of a guide.

Falkenstein Castle

Those tourists who take the time to climb higher into the mountains will be amazed by an unforgettable sight - the unusual Falkenstein Castle, located right among the rocks. The views from here, especially if you climb higher, are fabulous!

Panska Skala

This geological phenomenon is a huge 12-meter cliff, which was skillfully assembled by nature from polygonal basalt slabs. There is a similar giant in Northern Ireland, however, the Czech stone relative is quite accessible to tourists and is located 500 meters away south of the highway No. 13, landmark – the village of Prachen, located 18 km from Decin.

Kamenice Gorge

To visit this picturesque gorge, you need to walk along walking trail, indicated on the map in green, from the village of Mezna to the canyon of the Kamenice river. In these marvelous lands, you will cross a wooden bridge across a 30-meter-long gorge, and then you can go down to the piers, from where gondola excursions along the Dikoe and Quiet gorges are held. If tourists follow the path marked in blue on the map, they will come to the authentic village of Mezni-Luka.

Gorges Wild and Quiet

Let's take a closer look at these gorges. Once on the steep canyon of the Kamenitsa River, travelers find themselves in places where the river is blocked by dams. Between these dams you can raft on a flat-bottomed boat led by a local gondolier. First, guests of the reserve will sail through the Wild Gorge (“Divoka Souteska”), 250 meters long, romantic and calm. But then the Quiet Gorge (“Tikha Souteska”), almost 500 meters long and “decorated” with a picturesque waterfall, the waters of which noisily flow out of the rock, awaits them.

Suha Kamenica

In early spring and autumn months, the canyon of a small stream flowing into the Laba (arm of the Elbe) fills with water and dozens of miniature waterfalls gurgle merrily between the rocks over a scattering of huge boulders. In summer, the waters dry up, and Suha Kamenica is filled with mystery and cozy silence.

Gazebo

It was once possible to reach the spectacular Belvedere observation deck, hanging over the Elbe River canyon, along a perfectly straight road coming from the castle in the town of Binovce. Tourists at the Belvedere are treated to amazing views of the curving river and bizarre sandstone rocks reminiscent of petrified giants.

Ružovsky Vrh

For those who are not afraid of steep climbs, something awaits! In the thickets of the beech forest that densely covers Mount Ruzovsky Vrch, there are many unique viewing platforms. And although there are no special attractions here, the views are worth the effort spent on climbing.

Wolf board

Having passed along the road through the canyon of the Krinitsa River, called Kiyovske Udoli and known for its unbridled beauty, tourists will come to another attraction. This is a stone slab; in the 17th century, a story was carved on it about a hunter who was able to kill two wolves at once.

From Prague to Czech Switzerland: what tourists need to know

It is worth noting that the excursion from Prague to Czech Switzerland is very popular, since the journey does not take very much time, but the pleasure received is worth it!

The reserve is open to visitors all year round: from April to October you can be on its territory from 10-00 to 18-00, and from November to March - only on weekends from 10-00 to 16-00.

How to get from Prague to Czech Switzerland

Let's consider all the options:

Public transport: in Prague itself we take the train to the town of Decin. Here we change to shuttle bus No. 434, which will take us to Khrzhensko.
Own or rented car: we drive along the intercity highway to the town of Decin, then from there we go to Khrzhensko. Here you can leave your car in paid parking lots and continue exploring the reserve on foot.
Steamboat: first you will have to take a train to Decin, from Decin you will need to walk about a kilometer to the pier, and from there, on a steamship plying along the Labe River (aka Elbe), swim to the final stop, which is also located about 800 meters from Grzhenska.

Where to stay

Despite the fact that Grzhensk is a rather small town, there are no problems with accommodation here.

Relatively affordable hotels are:

Hotel “Labe”, where bus number 434 stops. The cost of daily accommodation in a room starts from 660 CZK, and in the season (from April to the end of October) - from 730 CZK (breakfast is included in the price). Hotel website: www.labehotel.cz
Hotel U Lipy offers accommodation in double or triple rooms, which cost 1,100 and 1,650 CZK per night respectively. Hotel website: www.hotelulipy.zaridi.to/lipa.htm

Cost of entrance ticket and excursions

The entrance ticket to the territory of the Czech Switzerland Nature Reserve costs 50 CZK. Excursions are paid separately. For example, the favorite excursion of all tourists - canoeing along the Edmund's Gorge - lasts about 15-20 minutes and costs 80 crowns for adults and half as much for children.

Other excursions vary in price and number of attractions visited. In principle, you can get a map of the territory at the entrance to the reserve and independently go around those interesting places that most attract you.

Even 2 weeks before the trip to the Czech Republic, I began to plan some kind of 2-day trip to nature. After some information gathering, I chose the option of Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland.
Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland, in fact, is a single natural complex of sandstone cliffs and gorges, located in two neighboring countries: Czech Republic and Germany (Saxony). Those. Czech Switzerland turns out to be the gateway to another Switzerland, even more picturesque: Saxon, i.e. to Germany.
First of all, I booked rooms at the Labe Hotel on the website http://www.labehotel.cz/gb/
This hotel is located in the town of Hrensko.
You can also choose other hotels there. You can see the list here -
Czech Switzerland Hotels, pensions:
http://www.cztour.cz/ru/hotels-pansion.php
My friend and I traveled from Prague first by train to Decin.
You can, for example, take the EuroCity 178 Johannes Brahms train at 6:31 and be there at 8 am
in Decin, and from there by bus about 20-25 minutes and on the spot in Grzensko
And the whole day is ahead!
For reference, the train to Decin costs 165 CZK (if you book in advance, as I understand it
it will cost even less) The exchange rate at that time was 1 euro = 25 crowns.
All information on trains and buses can and should be found on the website -
http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusymhd/spojeni/

Here is the Labe Hotel. The bus stops almost 40 meters from the hotel.

In general, we checked into a hotel. I took 2 numbers. I really liked the layout - there was access from 2 rooms to one balcony.

A couple of panoramic shots

In Grzhensko there is practically one road and along it there are guesthouses, restaurants, many shops and a lot of shops where the Vietnamese sell their goods.
In general, the Czech Republic is overrun with Vietnamese. They sell all sorts of cheap consumer goods in all
Czech cities. And the Vietnamese turned out to be quite impudent. When I was walking around Grzhensko, one Vietnamese lady, furious that I was not reacting to her product, hit me on the legs with a stick.

Here you can see the Praha Hotel - probably the most expensive hotel in this place

Such a small square in this Grzensko

The houses stand under the rocks - but when it goes heavy rain, then there may be a rock collapse

Country idyll

Road along the Elbe. Germany is on the other side

On the other side is the German side (train station). On the Czech side you can see part of the ferry on which we will cross to the other side tomorrow.

On the road along which we arrived by bus there are Duty Free shops.
The border is with Germany after all. Prices are really lower than, for example, in Prague.

We ate and drank beer in one of the many restaurants and then continued on our way
lay in the Pravčicka brane.

Read the continuation.

There are many interesting and picturesque places on our planet, where once you get there, you want to return again and again. One of these corners is Czech (Bohemian) Switzerland or, as the locals call it, Saxon Switzerland.

This park was founded not so long ago, at the beginning of the two thousandth. Its territory is about 80 square meters. km. When creating the park, the country's authorities wanted to preserve the site in its original condition. untouched nature. And they succeeded. It's amazing here Beautiful places with minimal human intervention.

The basis of the park is made up of unique sand formations in the form of rocks. The rocks are covered with ancient forests with rare plant species. It is believed that the rocks were formed about 10 million years, and over time, when the water receded, the rocks, on the contrary, protruded. These sand deposits were compressed mainly during the Mesozoic period under the influence of wind, temperature changes and other natural phenomena.

Unique natural formations impress with their picturesqueness: canyons, arches, windows, etc. And the ruins of fortresses and other medieval buildings, which have been perfectly preserved to this day, fit very harmoniously into all this. Many photographers come here to capture unique beauty these places.

Story

This territory was first inhabited by nomadic tribes of hunters and gatherers about 10 thousand years ago. They settled mainly near bodies of water. Still local residents After spring floods, ancient tools and utensils are discovered.

A little later, farmers began to settle in these places, for whom the lands along the tributaries of the river were the most fertile. Over time, to strengthen their settlements, people began to erect walls and even build forts, the ruins of which are scattered throughout the national park.

In the 14th century, Saxon colonialists settled on these lands and were engaged in logging. In those days there were real impenetrable thickets here. They settled here, and in some places there are even ruins of entire settlements with specific architecture.

But it was two Swiss restorers who made this area tourist, who were invited to Dresden to restore one estate. During their holidays, they often walked through the modern territory of the national park from the Dresden side and admired the beauty of these places. And after finishing the work, they stayed to live here, because the local rocks very much reminded them of their native Switzerland. This is how the name “Switzerland” stuck to this place. Since the end of the 18th century, this area began to be called “Saxon Switzerland”.

In the 19th century, local communities opened the first tourist routes for travelers. The mountain society of Bohemian Switzerland began to open the first hotels and restaurants here. They began to equip observation decks and clear the most beautiful gorges. And on the Elbe River they have equipped everything for those who like to sail. In general, everything has been equipped for a comfortable stay for tourists in these places.

Where is

Conventionally, the park is divided into German and Czech parts, which are separated by the border between the states and the Elbe River in the west of the park.

Czech Switzerland is located in the northern part of the Czech Republic, close to the border with Germany and 40 km. from Dresden. The highest part of this park is Mount Decinski Snezhnik with a height of just over 700 meters. The most popular place among tourists is the Pravcicka Gate, which was formed due to rain and severe erosion.

How to get there

In fact, there are only two options to get to this fabulous place: on your own, in a rented or your own car, or with a tour. Excursion tour can be purchased at any travel agency in . The cost of such a tour is from 30 euros and above, depending on the number of people in the group. You will also have to pay separately for visiting certain attractions.

If you get there on your own, you can enter the park both from German territory and from the Czech Republic. IN National Park you can enter in different ways: both on the autobahn and along simple highways. But you should use a map or navigator so as not to get lost.

You can also take a train from Prague to the city of Decin, and then take bus number 434 to the village of Hrzensko.

When is the best time to go?

The park is open all year round. From November to March the park is open from 10.00 to 16.00. And from April to October 10.00 – 18.00.

The best time to visit the park is considered to be spring and autumn, when it is not too hot and you can spend a lot of time walking and relaxing.

The entrance ticket can be purchased at the entrance to the park and costs 70 CZK. Additional excursions will have to be paid separately. In the park you can go boating, with sightseeing tour along the gorge, or visit castles.

Tourism

The entire territory of the park is marked with special hiking trails, from which you cannot leave. Therefore, it is worth purchasing a park map immediately at the entrance. All trails are accessible. There are even routes for cyclists. You can rent a bike right in the park. There are also rock climbing areas within the park.

Those who like to camp in tents can spend the night immediately in the reserve, but this is permitted in special camp areas. Even pets are allowed to walk around the park, so you can safely bring your beloved pets for a walk.

To make it more convenient to relax in the reserve and find places in the park, there are several tourist centers located in different parts of the park. The main tourist center is located in Krasnaya Lipa. It is open daily from 9.00 until the park closes. There are also information centers in Hrzensko, Saul, Serbska Kamenica.

When traveling to Czech Switzerland you should definitely take comfortable shoes and clothes. It is unlikely that it will be easy to climb a mountain in heels or tight trousers. You should definitely take a couple of bottles of water with you, as water in the park is much more expensive.

Attractions

The basis of the reserve is forests and rocks. But even in addition to the stunningly beautiful landscapes, you can also see architectural sights in the park.