CZ: Vysocina – Castles and Chateaus on the Sazava River

You can start your journy at Ledeč nad Sázavou, a beautiful and fabulous town. The main sight in this town is a castle. There are three tours available at the castle - Minor at museum (Malý muzejní), Large at the castle (Velký hradní), and Children´s tour (Dětský okruh). The first two tours take on the history of the town and goods manufactured by craftsmen in the region of Ledec especially potters, glassmakers, weavers, dyers etc. The tour for children brings children to the largest plush bear exhibition in the Czech Republic. Tourist craving to experience adventure can take a glimpse of the mysterious castle undergrounds. There a true hell was formed - the one you know from fairy tales, devils included. People who enjoy vistas shall climb up a 32-meter observation tower. Once you climb its 111 stairs you will be rewarded with the vista of fabulous valley of the Sazava river.

Outside the catle compounds, you can see Jewish synagogue (1739) and a Jewish cemetery in Ledec.

We continue upstream the Sazava river. The river becomes our guide. Another stop is Světlá nad Sázavou. The chateau is among its most itneresting landmarks. The chateau surrounds a chateau park where several ponds are situated. The chateau Světlá nad Sázavou has four tours in offer - 2 for adults and 2 for children. The first tour takes you to the exhibition of European historical glass. There are 1100 glass items from starting in the Baroque period and ending in the 20th century. The second tour shows the exhibition of historical clocks, Baroque pantings, and precious sculptures with polychrome applied. The third tour is where children and adults can dolls made of china, vinyl, composite, celluloid, cloth, and wood. Dolls here come from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Russia, or Japan. The third tour, the fairy tour Na Sázavě introduces legends of the Sazava region. Both children and adults will like it. Medieval underground is the sort of thing you want to see while sightseeing Světlá nad Sázavou. It composes of corridors and blind alleys which have 200 meters in total and was probably finished in the 15th century.

To close our journey through chateaus and castles on the Sazava river we set off to one of the sturdiest of them - Lipnice nad Sázavou. Lipnice castle was founded on harsh and wild land in early 14th century. Its founders werethe mighty house of Lichtenburk. The castle stands on rocky elevation between two hills. Thus it can guard its surroundings. There is beautiful monumental architecte including Gothic-style chapel of St Vavřinec (St Lawrence), vast system of cellars, and former dining hall of Jindrich of Lipa. Many mysteries and legends have been told about this castle. Some say about Catherine who was balled in there, some about a black man, or a treasure and the third cross. You can explore the castle freely. It is also suitable for families with little children. It is something to remember when one wanders through diverse architecture of the castle. To get a better grasp what´s in the castle, there are printed guides available, or even an introductory lecture and information boards along the exploration trail. You can expect to enjoy amazing vistas into the surroundings. The best ones are from the gallery on Samson´s tower.

Jaroslav Hašek spent  his remaning years of life at a house below the castle. It was here where he wrote his masterpiece "Good Soldier Svejk". The National Monument of Spying, a triptych of granite reliefs, was created in flooded granite quarries near Lipnice nad Sazavou. The monument is a hyperbolic representation of monitoring of human privacy and activities. There goes a marked tourist trail to this monument. It starts at U České koruny inn, Lipnice nad Sázavou. Approximately 1 kilometer down the trail markings split. Each relief is situate in a different quarry. It takes about 2 hours to finish seeing the monument. The lenght of the trail is about 4 kilometers.

Vysočina Tourism, p. o.

Na Stoupách 144/3

586 01 Jihlava

e-mail info@vysocinatourism.cz

www.vysocinatourism.cz 

Source: Vysočina Tourism

Photo credits: archiv Kraje Vysočina, Filip Balogh, Vladimír Kunc, Stanislav Bárta