Valečov – Zásadka – Mužský – Krásná vyhlídka viewpoint – Hynšta – Zásadka – car park below Valečov
Start and destination: car park below Valečov
Route length: 12.3 km
Route difficulty: Medium, roads and forest trails.
The starting point is the car park below the ruined castle of Valečov. Following the red markers slightly uphill takes you to the castle, which was built on the site of an ancient Slavic hillfort in the 14th century. Back then, the castle was probably made of wood and partly hewn into the rock. Valečov’s heyday was during the Hussite period, when it was owned by the brothers Bartoš and Bernard of Valečov, ardent supporters of the chalice, although after the castle was made part of the Mnichovo Hradiště estate following the Thirty Years’ War, it ceased to be inhabited by the nobility and thus lost its importance. Continue following the red route and along the way you can take several short diversions to the ‘rock houses’. It’s interesting to note that people were still living in these dwellings in 1892. At the Nad Valečov crossroads, turn left towards Zásadka. On the road, leave the green route and follow the green markers up the road to the village of Mužský. The core of the village, mostly consisting of preserved timbered folk architecture, was declared a village heritage reservation in 1995. The basalt hill of Mužský rises up behind the village. During the Prussian-Austrian War in 1866, the warring armies clashed around Mužský. This event is commemorated by a memorial to the dead, built right on the top of the hill. From the road, take a short diversion and walk up to the peak, 463 m high, from where there is a beautiful 360-degree panorama of the Czech countryside. In good weather you can see as much as a sixth of Bohemia.
Walk back down to the road and continue to the very edge of Příhrazské skály rocks, to the Na Krásné vyhlídce restaurant. Not only can you eat there; the viewpoint also offers a wonderful vista of North and East Bohemia. From the restaurant, go back a short way in the direction you came from and turn left following the blue markers. The route runs through the forest as far as the crossroads signpost, where it intersects with the yellow path. Stay on the blue route and after around 500 m you’ll come to the turn-off to the ruined castle of Hynšta. You get there along a rocky ridge, marked with the blue stripes. The castle was carved into a single block of rock; the other parts were made of wood. During the 17th century members of the Unity of the Brethren sought refuge in the castle. All that remains of the castle is one large room hewn into the rock with a central pillar, reached via a long entrance passageway. After returning to the main route, continue through the forest following the blue markers until you get to the road. Follow the road down through the village of Zásadka to the car park below Valečov.