In the northwestern part of the Czech Republic, on the border with Germany, there is a Czech national park. Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland is an untouched territory with wild nature and picturesque corners. In Germany, this park is called Saxon Switzerland, and in the Czech Republic - Czech. This is due to the fact that the park is located on the territory of two states.
Tourists come to this park not only to enjoy nature, but also to engage in active sports. You can explore the most important places in just one day, but many stay at the campsite for a longer time.
A visit to this national park will give you an unforgettable experience of communicating with wildlife and ancient monuments, which are an important part of the culture of not only the Czech Republic, but throughout Europe.
More than 10 thousand years ago, the first inhabitants of Bohemia lived here, who were engaged in hunting, fishing and collecting various berries and herbs. The ancient inhabitants wandered around the territory and settled mainly near water streams, so modern archaeologists find tools, utensils and used coal.
Farmers settled the area much later. Trade caravans passed through the entire territory of the modern park, and a fortified fort was erected for defense.
In the 13th century, the kings of Bohemia invited the colonialists here, who settled modern Germany, to make this place more civilized. The colonialists built villas, castles, engaged in industry and coal production here. Dense forests and the absence of wide plains have left many areas untouched. There were no places where one could permanently live or engage in industry. Nevertheless, some objects built by man have been preserved. For example, the runes of ancient half-timbered houses of the XX century.
The tourism business in Czech Switzerland began to develop very early. In the second half of the 18th century, romantic artists began to come here in search of new previously little-known places. Later in the 19th century, tourism began to develop systematically. It was during this period that farmers from local estates and tourist communities began to come here, which were just beginning to form. To increase the attractiveness of the area, hiking trails have been laid out, restaurants, hotels and observation towers have been opened. Even later, tourists began to actively engage in extreme sports and sail on the river.
Park attractions: what to see in Bohemian Switzerland?
There are no modern attractions in Czech Switzerland, but there are unique natural creations and ancient castles. There are a lot of attractions on the territory, but you can make a route so that you can visit the most in one day. interesting places. It is worth noting that it will be easier to travel by car, but you can really enjoy the nature of the Czech Republic and partly Germany while walking.
Pravchitsky Gate
The symbol of the national park is the Pravchitsky Gate tower. The uniqueness of this natural site lies in the fact that it is the highest rock in Europe, which has an incredible appearance. This is a natural monumental arch 16 meters high, which has a length of 26 meters.
You can get to the sights from Grzhensk. From the car park you will need to walk about 4 km. You can’t climb the Pravchitsky Gate, but you can view the unique natural creation from the side. The entrance ticket for adults is 75 kroons, and for children (6-14 years old) - 25 kroons.
If you walk a little more from the Pravchitsky Gate along a wide path, you can see a small copy 2 meters high - the Small Gate.
Important! Please note that there is also a narrow path, which is marked in red on the map, it also leads to the Small Pravchitsky Gate, but you will have to wander around the park for a long time.
falcon nest
At the end of the 19th century, a castle was built in the rock near the Pravchitsky Gate, which, with its spring appearance, resembled a hunting lodge. The Falcon's Nest is a unique Clari castle that has been reorganized.
Now it is a popular tourist spot, where there is a restaurant overlooking the territory of the natural castle, and a museum dedicated to the history and natural diversity of this region.
Lupezhnitsky Castle or Schaunstein
Schaunstein Castle, which is also located in a rock near the High Lips, was inhabited by robbers, but eventually became empty and lost its former appearance.
Now it is ruins in a dense forest and a popular waypoint in the national park. It is recommended to climb the stairs in the rocky tunnel to observation deck, where an extraordinary view of Czech Switzerland opens up. A small room was excavated at the bottom of the main tower, which served as a prison for intruders and a warehouse.
The place is fully equipped for tourists and easily accessible, so it is worth adding to the itinerary for independent travel.
Dolskaya mill
It is hard to imagine that for several centuries it was a busy place where roads crossed and trade was conducted. Later, when the territory was empty, a fairy tale about a princess was filmed here. Today, Dolskaya mill is a ruin and a popular attraction of the park.
royal spruce
Not far from the Dolskaya Mill is the Royal Spruce. Its age is 180 years, and the coverage of the trunk is 3 meters. This ancient tree impresses with its scale and majestic appearance.
Khrzhensko
On the border with Germany, there is a small but very picturesque town of Khrzhensko. In the 15th century, Bohemian glass was made in a glass workshop. Tourists can visit this workshop and see with their own eyes the whole process of blowing Czech glass. Tourists often visit the workshop's souvenir shop, where you can buy various glass vases, glasses, crockery and other items made of crystal and Bohemian glass.
Few people live in the town of Khrzhensko, but everyone is involved in the tourism business. Here you can rent a hotel room, visit a restaurant or buy a souvenir. You can leave your car in the parking lot and walk around the territory.
Residents' houses are no less amazing objects, because they are authentically decorated and resemble small village houses. What is also unique here is that the city has only two parallel streets that run along two banks. If you drive a little further from the village, you can see a waterfall.
Other attractions
Along with these main attractions and popular tourist destinations, there are other equally beautiful and ancient points of the routes:
- Abandoned silver mines. It will be interesting to visit this place with a guide who will tell you more about the ancient mines where silver was mined. You can also go down into the mine and feel involved in this industry.
- Castle Falkenstein. This castle is located among the rocks and it is difficult to get to it. Tourists who decide to climb the mountains will be incredibly amazed by the beauty of nature and the architectural features of the castle structure. If you climb to the highest point of the cliff, you can view the territory of the park from a height.
- Panska rock. Another attraction created by nature is a huge 12-meter cliff, which was formed from basalt slabs. There is a similar natural formation in Northern Ireland, but why not visit the Panska Rock in Bohemian Switzerland?
- Viewpoint Belvedere. This is a natural retreat that hangs over the river canyon, and is located near the town of Binovce. From this city on a straight road you can walk to a platform from which sandy cliffs are visible.
- Gorges Wild and Quiet. Tourists who find themselves on the steep canyon of the Kamenica River can continue to explore Bohemian Switzerland by boat with local gondoliers between the dams. The first place they will sail to is the Wild Gorge, and a little further is the Silent Gorge. The latter has a unique waterfall that makes its way from the cliff. This is an incredible natural site that must be visited.
- Dry Kamenitsa. At the beginning of spring, the canyon of the stream, which flows into the Elbe River, fills with water and murmurs between the rocks in small waterfalls. At other times of the year, it is not so unusual here, so tourists rarely visit this place.
- Gorge Kamenice. Not far from the village of Mezne, there is a gorge where tourists swim on gondolas and enjoy the wild nature.
- Ruzhovsky Vrh. This place is worth visiting only for active and risk-averse tourists, because you can only climb the Ruzhovsky Vrh mountain along winding paths through the thickets of a beech forest. There will be no sights along the way, only nature and people. This is an opportunity to test yourself for endurance, to think, in order to consider the opening view as a result, which deserves all the efforts made to climb.
- Wolf board. This attraction is located near the canyon of the Krinitsa River and is known for its unbridled nature. There is also a 17th century stone slab depicting the story of a successful hunter.
- Dechinsky Snezhnik is the most high mountain Czech Switzerland and another observation deck. Here is a tower of the middle of the XIX century, 33 meters high, as well as the ruins of a medieval castle.
Independent travel routes
There are many marked routes for independent travel in the park. Tourists can lay a route both at their own request, and resort to the help of tourist centers. You can also go in for active sports here: rock climbing, horseback riding or cycling.
There are a lot of routes for independent travel in Czech Switzerland, we will post only some of them, which you can use:
- Route 1: Pravcicka brana - Divoka and Tycha Soutezki. The length of the route is approximately 15 km, the time will take approximately 5-6 hours.
- Route 2: Arnoltice, Ruzhov and Janov. The length of the route is approximately 17 km, it will take approximately 4.5-5 hours in time.
- Route 3: Saunstein castle - Ptaci kamen viewpoint. The route is approximately 11 km long and takes approximately 3 hours.
- Route 4: Belvedere viewpoint. The route is approximately 18 km long and takes approximately 5 hours.
- Route 5: Jetrichovice Rocks. The route is approximately 14 km long and takes approximately 4.5 hours.
- Route 6: Falkenstein Castle - Rinartice - Pavlinino Udoli. The route is approximately 14 km long and takes approximately 4 hours.
- Route 7: Bolshoy doubitsky district. The route is approximately 28 km long and takes approximately 8 hours.
- Route 8: Narrow stairs. The length of the route is approximately 12-15 km, it will take approximately 3-4 hours in time.
- Route 9: Ruzhovsky vrh. The route is approximately 13 km long and takes approximately 4 hours.
- Route 10: Jetřichovice Lookout - Falkenstein Castle
How to get from Prague to Czech Switzerland on your own?
There are several ways to get to Czech Switzerland:
- By public transport: you need to take a train to the city of Decin, and then transfer to bus number 434, which goes to the Khrzhensko stop.
- By car: follow the highway to the town of Decin, and then Khrzhensko. You can leave your car in the parking lot and go explore the national park.
- By boat on the Elbe River from the city of Decin, but this city must be reached by train. The final stop is located 800 meters from Grzhensk.
Reviews of tourists
Tourists speak positively about the beauty and originality of this place, but you need to be prepared to walk a lot.
Czech switzerland map
You can get acquainted with the location of the main attractions of Czech Switzerland on the map of the national park.
This reserve, which has no analogues in Europe, stretches from the town of Tisza in the Ustetsky district to the Shluknov ledge in the Dechinsky district. The park was founded on January 1, 2000, and became the Czech continuation of the German national park Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland), founded 10 years earlier (1990). The Bohemian Switzerland Park is part of the extensive natural complex Labske Piskovce, and the main object of protection in it is the characteristic sandstone phenomenon - the “rocky sandstone city” of Jtrzychovice and Decinske Stena, and the biological diversity associated with them. Tourists love to visit observation platforms with unique views of sandy cliffs, bridges and castles created by nature. The park is popular with fans of active sports: climbers, cyclists, rafting enthusiasts and hikers.
Millions of years ago, the sea stretched here. Having subsided, it left behind a unique land of high sandstone cliffs and towers, rocky arches, ravines and mountains with truncated peaks.
Wildlife, which for a long time developed without human intervention, was discovered at the end of the 18th century by two Swiss artists of the Romantic era - Adrian Zingg and Anton Graf. Depicting this region in engravings and describing it in verse, they quickly spread its fame throughout Europe. The sites along the Elbe river canyon have become the cradle of modern tourism, becoming one of the first heavily visited tourist attractions in Europe.
One of the most famous landscape painters of all time, Caspar David Friedrich, came here for the motives of his paintings. The owners of the local estates quickly realized the attractiveness of the local dense forests and romantic outlines of the rocks, they made a lot of efforts to make these places more accessible by building roads and bridges. Steps were made on the Mariana Rock, the Wall of Velhelm and the Stone of Rudolf, benches were placed, and gazebos were placed on the tops. Along the roads for tourists, new taverns and places to stay for the night were opened, walking paths appeared, and the wild river Kamenice was used to move between the gorges.
Not only artists came here for inspiration. The fortresses of the robber knights, rock cities, legends about gnomes and fairies influenced the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, the poet R. M. Rilke, the composers K.M. von Weber, Richard Wagner and others.
And today, the Pravchitsky Gate is a symbol of "Czech Switzerland", conquering artists, for example, the snow-covered Silent Rocks became the scenery for the film "The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". It was here that Lucy visited the cave of the Faun Tumnus, and all four brothers and sisters crossed the rocky bridge for the first time and looked at the endless forests of Narnia.
One of the main attractions of Bohemian Switzerland, along with the Pravcicka Gate, is a romantic boat trip through the Silent and Wild Canyons on the Kamenica River. We are talking about a short but impressive trip on a boat with a gondolier between two sheer cliffs - in some places it is so deep that direct sunlight almost does not reach here.
Once it was a serious obstacle for the inhabitants of local villages. One day in 1877, in the U Zeleného stromu tavern in the town of Hřensko, five daredevils made a bet that they would sail on rafts from the Dolsky mill to the place that was then called "the end of the world." On rafts 4 meters long, they, indeed, safely reached Grzhensk, in fact, becoming the founders of the tourist water route. The local prince of Clari-Aldringen invited specialists from Italy, under whose leadership, over two hundred workers made these sites accessible to the public. Suspension walkways were thrown here, tunnels were laid with the help of explosives. On May 4, 1890, the grand opening of the "Quiet" ("Edmond") canyon took place. Since then, "at the very end of the world", in fact, nothing has changed much, the beauties of nature remain untouched, and carriers, as more than 130 years ago, drive and guide their boats with poles.
Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland, Königstein fortress and Bastei. Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland is a picturesque place of the Ore Mountains and amazing nature is everywhere. Millions of people conquered by the views of Saxon Switzerland are frequent guests of these places.
Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland is a picturesque place of the Ore Mountains and amazing nature is everywhere. Millions of people conquered by the views of Saxon Switzerland are frequent guests of these places. Climbers, athletes and tourists explore the national park every day with many gorges, rocks, amazing flora and rare fauna. Surely the word Bastei is familiar to you! 305 m. height viewing platforms and a delightful bridge. More than one generation has been fascinated by these places. Since the 18th century, tourists have besieged these places of Saxon Switzerland. Alexander Scriabin, while in Germany, dedicated a prelude written by him to these places. The prelude is called Bastei.
How the tour goes:
Group gathering time at 07:50 Wenceslas Square, At the monument to St. Wenceslas on horseback. Departure at 08:00. Travel time 1.5 hours. A professional guide in Russian works with the group on the bus. Arrival in Saxon Switzerland to the Königstein Fortress, where you will have a tour of the fortress and a sightseeing tour with a visit to the military history museum of the fortress, the fortress prison, the so-called Saxon Bastille, the garrison church, the casemate and much more. Transfer to Bastei (40 min.). Walk along the Bastei with a visit to the ruined ancient fortress of Ratenburg with extraordinary views of Saxon Switzerland. Free time 3 hours with the opportunity to have lunch in a restaurant with views of the Elbe and Saxon Switzerland. Free time until 16:30. Arrival in Prague at Wenceslas Square at 19.00. The duration of the trip is 11 hours. Entrance tickets: Königstein Fortress - 10 euros Bastei Rocks - free of charge (attendance to these objects is optional)
Czech Switzerland(České Švýcarsko) - the most beautiful corner of nature in the northwest Czech Republic. The area adjoins the German "Saxon Switzerland" and is famous for its unusual shape of limestone cliffs, gorges and dense forests that stretch out in the Elbe (Labe) river basin. In 2000, an area of 79 km2 officially became a national park and came under state protection.
Ironically, it is more convenient to get to the park from German Dresden than from Prague. We take the train to Schöna station, go to the ferry and, please, you are in Grzhensko, from where several popular hiking trails start!
From Prague to Decin (here it is worth seeing the local castle) can be reached by train - just over 2 hours on the way. Further to the town of Hřensko - by bus or taxi. The second option is preferable because you don't have to wait, but the trip will cost about 350 kroons
From Decin, you can also get to the place by sailing on a boat sailing along the Laba. The final stop is in the village of Shmilka on the German side of the border, then to the crossing in Grzhensko with a kilometer walk
Another interesting way is again by train from Prague. Direction to Decin, there is a transfer to the line to the German Bad Schandau and get off at Schöna station. Next, you already know…
The honor of opening the region to the public belongs to Adrian Zing and Anton Graff, two Swiss artists and teachers at the Dresden Art Academy, who lived in the mid-18th century. In search of "nature" they traveled along the Elbe, visiting places between Pirna and Chrzhensko, and painted a lot.
Almost immediately, their landscapes attracted attention and the tourist reached out to these places for unusual beauties. One of the most famous personalities who did not fail to visit here: the author of fairy tales, the Dane Hans Christian Andersen, who paid two visits, in 1831 and 1851.
Gorge Kamenitsa
What to watch
There are several routes that allow you to see Czech Switzerland in detail: both on foot and by bicycle.
Czech Switzerland
Let's mention the iconic places of the national park, without seeing which not a single tourist will leave here:
Pravčická brána is the largest natural limestone arch in Europe, 26 meters long and 16 meters high. You can’t climb it - it’s fraught, but it’s absolutely necessary to see it.
In 1881, Prince Edmund Clari und Olringen, who owned local lands, built a castle next to Pravcicka Brana, called the "Falcon's Nest". The castle was built in just one year: today the building houses the National Park Museum and a restaurant with great views.
"Falcon's Nest" and Pravcicka Brana
Kamenice is a river flowing in a winding mountain gorge. The Tichá soutěska backwater, the “Quiet Gorge” (Tichá soutěska), is especially beautiful - for almost a kilometer, tourists from boats can contemplate sheer walls up to a hundred meters high, rocks that tried, but never slipped into the water, relic pine groves.
- Edmund's Gorge - the most colorful part of Kamenitsa
The village of Jetřichovice, a convenient starting point for traveling through the mountain range of the same name Nearby you can visit the Falkenštejn castle and the Mariina skála, a beautiful view point at an altitude of 428 meters.
The ruins of the Shaunstein fortress (Šaunštejn) on a lonely rock - it was destroyed either in the 15th or in the 16th century and has not been restored since then.
© Eurotraveler.ru
Czech Switzerland
When tourists first hear such a name, their minds are concerned with only one question: where does Switzerland come from in the Czech Republic. It sounds really interesting, but in reality we are talking about an amazingly beautiful national park, which, due to its views and landscape, bears such an unusual name as Czech Switzerland.
Why is this place interesting for a tourist?
Bohemian Switzerland is part of the territory of the Elbe Sandy Mountains, which belongs to the Czech Republic. Tellingly, in Germany this area is called Saxon Switzerland. The territory of the park has nearly 80 square meters. m, and since 2000 it has officially acquired the status of a reserve. On the map of the country, Czech Switzerland is located in the northwestern region, near the headwaters of the Elbe River.
The reserve got its name thanks to two Swiss artists who traveled to these places in their free time and created, inspired by the local beauty. The masters of the brush did not even want to return home, arguing that they found their Switzerland in the Czech Republic.
Attractions of the Bohemian Switzerland Reserve
The park has a number of interesting and fascinating places, the creator of which was nature itself. So, what to see and where to take a souvenir photo in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park:
In one of the matches of the third round of the group stage of the World Ice Hockey Championship, the Czech Republic will face Switzerland. The match will take place in Copenhagen and starts on May 8 at 21-15 Moscow time.
Content:
Lifebet.ru notes that literally on the eve of the world championship, the national teams held two friendly matches between themselves, in which the Czechs confidently won twice.
Czech
The Czech national team is currently outside the top four in the group, but the team played only two more matches, and at the same time they played very well. In the course of the opening match, the Czechs were inferior to the Slovakian team, but showed fighting qualities and won the final victory in overtime 3-2. The day before, the team was defeated in the fight against Sweden 2-3.
Switzerland
The Swiss team, in turn, managed to score five points in two starting meetings, settling in the top half of the group. Moreover, in the first round, the team heavily defeated Austria. According to the results of regular time, there was a draw 2-2, and only in overtime did the Swiss tip the scales in their favor. Following was a fairly convincing victory over the Slovakian team 2-0.
Live online broadcast of the match Czech Republic - Switzerland
Match odds Czech Republic - Switzerland
- P1 - 1.99-2.05
- X - 4.25-4.35
- P2 - 3.15-3.25
- 1X - 1.33-1.37
- 12 – 1,2-1,24
- X2 - 1.77-1.82
Total odds:
- less than 3.5 - 3.05-3.15
- more than 3.5 - 1.36-1.4
- less than 4.5 - 2.02-2.08
- more than 4.5 - 1.83-1.88
Czech Republic — Switzerland expert forecast
This calendar year, the Czech national team has already beaten the Swiss three times, and now this trend is also likely to continue.
Salt to taste
After all, the Czechs scored only two points in the opening matches, and now the team needs to win. In general, lifebet.ru offers a prediction for the match Czech Republic - Switzerland: Czech Republic Victoria with a zero handicap.
Even this confrontation is unlikely to be over productive, and for sure the number of goals in it will not exceed 5.5. Along with this, we are betting that the Swiss will not be able to hit the opponent's goal more than 2.5 times.
Important statistics and interesting facts
- Note that in the last ten personal meetings, the Czech team won eight times, losing to the Swiss team only twice.
Excursions and transfers to Czech Switzerland are in high demand. Czech Switzerland has become one of the main destinations for eco-tourism.
Bohemian Switzerland National Park
The new concept of eco-tourism recreation has come from a rapidly growing number of eco-tourists who love the most beautiful corners and sights created by miraculous nature.
The beauty of the natural landscapes of Bohemian Switzerland captivates not only the eco-friendly, but also ordinary tourists and travelers. The history of the emergence of a mountain range with crevices, streams and even lakes has more than one millennium. In ancient times, this part of the land with the Elbe Sandstone Mountains located on it was the subject of constant wars between Saxony, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Prussia. Robbers often ran here. Only in 1459 did it become clear about the ownership of the Elbe Sandstones, since the signing of the Treaty of Eger, the Elbe Sandstones were divided in the middle of the navigable Elbe. Since then, one half belongs to Saxony, which is part of Germany, and the other half has remained in the ownership of the Czech Republic. The Meissen plateau was the name of that part of the Elbe Sandstones, or as the Saxons of the Ore Mountains called them, but it lasted until the 18th century, later they were renamed Saxon Switzerland. There is practically no reliable information about the name Czech Switzerland. Either the Czechs, having decided to keep up with the Germans, called their part Czech Switzerland, or vice versa, the Germans, but now there are two Switzerlands on the map divided by the Elbe River Czech from the Czech Republic and Saxon from the German side.
Be that as it may, but the beauty of these Switzerland deserve attention. The highest point in Czech Switzerland is Decinsky Snezhnik 723m., and the main attraction of Czech Switzerland is the unique so-called Pravcicka Gate, they are also Pravcheska Brana in Czech written as Pravcicka Brana. The width of this gate is not small 26 meters, and the height is breathtaking 16 meters. The view at the Pravcicki Gate - a huge arch, probably the fact that they are the main attraction of the delightful Czech Switzerland confirms the fact that the entrance to them is paid! There is also a small diner, with the same small assortment on the menu, beer and sausages, that's the whole list of dishes. Nearby is a castle built in 1881 that has grown into the rock. It was built in just a year and has a suitable name for the place: Falcon's Nest in Czech (Sokolí hnízdo). Delightful nature, a sea of trails and routes, a mountain river on which there are boats with boat guides carrying tourists and telling about the landscapes that tourists pass by.
If you want to book excursions from Prague to Czech Switzerland, go to the page excursions in the Czech Republic from Prague.
If you want to order a transfer from Prague to Czech Switzerland, go to the page Transfer in the Czech Republic from Prague.
Related topics:
Prague tour prices in Russian.
Prague Czech Switzerland excursion, excursions in the Czech Republic, Czech Switzerland, Czech Republic excursions, Czech Switzerland transfer, Prague excursions, Czech Switzerland tours, sights of the Czech Republic, nature in the Czech Republic.
Note:
The price of the excursion Czech Switzerland from Prague includes: transfer from your hotel to the very place of the excursion, a guided tour, the language of the excursion is Russian, transfer to the hotel back.
Here, you can learn everything about Czech Switzerland, from people who visited Czech Switzerland, read or write reviews and comments about Czech Switzerland - forum.
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Advantages
Very beautiful, rivers, mountains, castle, water park
disadvantages
Details
When people talk about the Czech Republic, everyone immediately thinks of Prague and Karlovy Vary. But in this country there are many other equally wonderful cities - resorts and others - albeit small, but old, rich in historical monuments and having their own unique features.
I have already talked about the thermal resort - Teplice, and now I want to open for you another small but cozy town of the Ustec region - Decin.
Decin, like Teplice, is located in the northwestern part of the Czech Republic, in an area called Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland, very close to Germany.
The town is located in a valley between mountain ranges, and it is here that the rivers Laba (aka Elbe) and Plouchnice meet. Therefore, Decin is an important river port.
The city itself is small - a little more than 50 thousand people live here, but there is something to see here.
An interesting historical fact is that Decin (and in German - Techen-Bodenbach) as a single city was formed recently - in 1942. This happened as a result of the merger of two nearby villages - Techen and Bodenbach. Since 1947, the name of the city became Decin.
The city is incredibly beautiful: there are mountain ranges around, and between them there are colorful houses and ponds.
Look at the positive architectural forms. When I saw them, I immediately had the thought that in such a vibrant city, people simply cannot be unhappy :)
The reservoirs here are magnificent, they are crossed by old and new bridges,
Ducks and majestic swans swim in the water itself, which are fed by numerous tourists with pleasure.
The most famous landmark of the city is Decin Castle, located on a hill on the right bank of the Laba. The history of the castle dates back to the 13th century. Initially, it belonged to noble families, and in 1934 it was sold to the state.
A road cut between the rocks leads to the castle - “Long Ride”, high stone walls stretch on both sides of it.
And here is the castle itself, it is under a long reconstruction, and inside it there is a museum where paintings, weapons and more are exhibited.
There is a magnificent rose garden on the territory of the castle, but we did not have the opportunity to see this beauty in full, since Decin was visited in March.
By the way, photography is not allowed in the castle, as I understand it, this is quite traditional for the Czech Republic.
Near the rose garden there is another historical monument - the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
The church was built at the end of the 17th century and has hardly been restored since then.
Bohemian Switzerland is one of the national parks of the Czech Republic
Inside it is decorated with magnificent frescoes.
In addition to the above, there are many other historical and architectural monuments in Decin that are worth seeing: these are other churches, a synagogue, churches and chapels, town halls, fountains, the “Shepherd’s Wall” - a sheer cliff on which the eponymous restaurant with more than a century of history nestled.
Children will also be interested in Decin. On the same Shepherd's Wall there is a small, but old and well-groomed zoo.
There is also a water park here, which we were lucky to visit. It consists of a covered open areas and is considered one of the most modern in the Czech Republic.
Of course, it is worth going to Decin even if only to see the incredibly beautiful area in which the town is sheltered - mountains and rivers give it a unique charm.
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Czech-Saxon Switzerland
How to get to Saxon Switzerland
The Saxon Switzerland National Park is located on the border of Germany and the Czech Republic on the German side and is a mountain forest massif of the Elbe sandstone mountains. The colors of the mountains are given by their bizarre shape, formed under the influence of the "blowing effect", in addition, there are numerous historical monuments, including the most ancient and picturesque ones - the Bastei Bridge and the Königstein Fortress. The national park is very popular among all lovers of natural attractions and is one of the most visited parks in Germany.
The Saxon Switzerland National Park is located 125 km from Prague and 30 km from Dresden, so most of the tourists come to the park from these large cities. Often group tours are organized from Prague or Dresden excursion tours to Saxon Switzerland, but you can get to the park on your own. The infrastructure of the park itself is highly developed, it is convenient for people with various abilities to move around here, and climbing the mountains along specially designed routes will not be tiring.
Petr Meissner/Winterberg, Saxon Switzerland How to get to Saxon Switzerland from Prague
The most convenient way to get from Prague to Saxon Switzerland is by rented car. Travel time will take no more than 1 hour 20 minutes, and along the way you can see the picturesque natural places. Prague and the park are connected by highway No. E55. At Please note that you will have to cross the state border to enter the National Park, so check with the rental office if this requires an additional permit for the rental car.
You can also get to the park from Prague by public transport. The closest settlements to Prague are the resort villages of Rathen and Bad Schandau. By the way, if you wish, you can stay here longer, because the resorts offer climate and mineral therapy. Trains run from Prague to the Rathen Kurort and the town of Bad Schandau, to Bad Schandau - direct (about 2 hours on the way), to the Rathen resort - with a transfer (about 3 hours on the way). You can check the train schedule and buy tickets online on the website or OBB. From Rathen you can start your hiking trip to Saxon Switzerland, while from Bad Schandau you will have to use the local bus.
In addition, you can take a ready-made bus tour from Prague to the park. Bus and walking tours are in Russian and last a total of approximately 10 hours. Thanks to the tour you will be able to see all the most Beautiful places natural park, including an observation deck on the Elbe River, while no transfers are required, as is the case with public transport. The tour can be found on site or booked in advance at specialized services, such as
and others similar.
How to get to Saxon Switzerland from Dresden
Getting to Saxon Switzerland is even easier from Dresden. Direct trains run between Dresden and the Rathen or Bad Schandau resorts, the travel time is only half an hour. Trains run every hour throughout the day. You can check the train schedule and buy tickets online on the website . Next, from the Rathen resort station, you need to go to the pier, buy tickets for the local ferry across the Elbe (travel time is about 5 minutes).
Once on the other side of the Elbe, you will see the picturesque Elbe Mountains right in front of you, the hiking routes of which will lead you to their summit. In the park, you should move around, focusing on the signs, they are placed almost everywhere, and it is difficult to get lost here. In addition, there are a lot of tourists in the park almost at any time of the year (in winter, during snowfalls, the park may be closed).
Thomas Quine/Panorama of the Elbe River Where to stay in Saxon Switzerland
The National Park "Saxon Switzerland" is quite extensive, there are many hiking trails that are enough for more than one day. If you plan to stay here longer, then it will be most convenient to stay in one of the nearest settlements not to return to Dresden or Prague. The nearest towns to the park are the resorts of Rathen (closer, within walking distance) and Bad Schandau (further, you need to get there by bus or train). Both resorts are quite intimate, traditional half-timbered architecture is presented here and there is all the infrastructure necessary for recreation.
So, for example, you can stay in the Rathen resort in hotels Elbiente 4* , Elbschlosschen 4* , Amselgrundschlossen 3*. The advantage of hotels is their location - in the center of the resort, as well as the presence of restaurants and indoor pools on site. You can stay in rooms of various sizes. As a rule, Wi-Fi in the hotels of the resort is provided free of charge, and there are no problems in finding free parking if you travel by car.
In Bad Schandau, you can find an even larger list of accommodations, since the town is considered a thermal spa. Several thermal complexes specializing in the treatment and restoration of various diseases are located here at once. Bad Schandau is a year-round resort and is in stable demand among tourists. You can stay in Bad Schandau in hotels Steiger Ban Schandau 4* , Parkhotel Bad Schandau 4* , Elbhotel Bad Schandau 3*and others. A complete list of accommodation options in Bad Schandau can be found on the website Booking.com.
Torsten Maue/Bad Schandau What to see in Saxon Switzerland
The Saxon Switzerland National Park is extremely rich in sights. They are based on Elbe sandstone mountains, having a peculiar shape, which, in turn, was created by nature itself over many millennia by blowing and erosion. The landscape of the National Park is very diverse. On specially laid routes, you can see not only the mountain range, but also fabulous forests overgrown with boxwood, waterfalls, as well as some historical sights, such as Königstein fortress And old bastei bridge, which connects the mountain peaks of the same name, the highest in the park.
Allan Grey/Resort Rathen Inside the park, there are many hiking trails designed for different levels of training and different time. The most popular route is the ascent to Mount Bastei with an inspection of the bridge of the same name, as well as a route to Fortress Königstein. Both places are extremely picturesque, as they are located on the edge of rocky cliffs. Both the bridge and the fortress offer panoramic views of the mountains, the Elbe River and Rathen.
In addition to the Bastei mountain itself with an ancient bridge and the Königstein fortress, you can also see other sights on the territory of Saxon Switzerland. In particular, they include valleys, waterfalls, forests, canyons and caves. If you want to get away from popular routes, then the attention of travelers also deserves Lichtenhain Falls, Stolpen fortress, Kushtal rock gate, as well as "path of artists" with the most picturesque viewpoints.
superscheeli/Bad Schandau It is worth noting that the entrance to the Saxon Switzerland National Park is free. Only ferry services across the Elbe and entrance tickets to the Königstein fortress are paid (8-10 euros depending on the time of year).
In general, we can say that the Saxon Switzerland National Park is a great alternative for a day trip from Prague or Dresden. It is here that you can “change” urban landscapes for natural ones and enjoy some of the most amazing views in Europe. In addition, there are all the opportunities to stay in the scenery of nature for as long as possible - in the immediate vicinity there are resorts Rathen and , which also offer many opportunities for leisure.
Saxon Switzerland and Dresden are frequent day trips from Prague, both popular destinations with travelers. About, , On a note :
Going on a trip to Europe, do not forget to take out a travel insurance policy, which is mandatory already at the stage of applying for a tourist visa. You can take out insurance on your own without leaving your home. For this, there are special services, such as , and others. You can buy a policy online and then print it on a regular printer.
Photo at the beginning of the article: Bernd Thaller
