While staying at Pfaffenstein, Germany, we became deeply curious about travelling into Czech to explore Bohemian Switzerland.
We hadn’t planned on going into Czech and we didn’t really know anything about the country. But a little bit of reading told us that Bohemian Switzerland has Europe’s largest natural arch bridge called Pravčická Brána (German: Prebischtor).
A quick trip down to the local tourist office in Königstein didn’t help much. When asked if there was anything worth seeing in Czech, the lady told us flat out that it wasn’t really interesting and that most cities and towns across the border were dirty. Maybe she was joking or perhaps I hadn’t understood her German well enough.
After that hearty recommendation, we knew we had to drive to Czech and see for ourselves. The drive took us along the Elbe River towards Bad Schandau and then across the border into Czech at the border town of Hřensko. Fortunately we didn’t stop there and do the walk up to Pravčická Brána. It seemed that a lot of the walk was along the main road and you had to pay a fee to park your car. Almost all of the parking spaces on the side of the road were guarded by parking inspectors doubling as souvenir salesmen.
So we continued driving, letting the car take us wherever it wanted, until we passed through a village that was just too koselig (cosy) to ignore. I should mention that up until then all of the villages that we had driven through were very clean and charming. We both wondered if the tourist office lady had ever been into Czech?
The carpark to start the walk
An example of the amazing houses
This one built next to a sandstone tower
A guesthouse or inn offering local specialities
Upon arriving in Jetřichovice, I turned the car around and drove back to the tourist office. The guy at the tourist office spoke Czech and German. I think he could speak a little English but he seemed a bit nervous at the prospect of that, so I asked him in German about the walking trails. After a couple of minutes, armed with the knowledge of only ‘follow the green trail’, we set off on an adventure into the Czech wilderness.
A map of the red and green trails
The trail into the park
One becomes two
Amazing feature. Looks like a giant skull
Cool shapes
Looking at one of the first lookouts
The walk into Národní Park (national park) České Švýcarsko (Bohemian Switzerland) is a must, and if we had had more time, we would have certainly stayed longer in Czech. Part of the surrounding forest was burned down in a forest fire. You can see the damage, but it is growing back. There are many similarities between this park and Saxon Switzerland across the border, with sandstone monoliths all around.
More amazing monoliths
Entering the forest of stones
This feature peers out from the trees
Climbing higher up to the lookouts
Going up
Lovely curves and waves
A face profile in the rock
Sandstone stacks
Sandstone features most likely formed by water
Close up of the sandstone honeycomb
Looking at the return path
Looking at fire damage from one of the lookouts
Looking down at the village of Jetřichovice
Czech may lack the order and grand scale of Germany, but what you have here is sparsely populated nature. Most of the people we met on the trail were Czech too, which was nice.
Can’t really read what this board says unfortunately. But these painted boards were common to memorialise either the person painted or someone close to them
This one I think explains something about the woman in the painting Countess Vilhelmina, who married into the House of Kinsky. In honour of her husband, the rock wall in the Schwarze Wand (I think the name of the rock feature) and a gazebo were built and a cross erected.
The drive from Bad Schandau to Jetřichovice and then on to Chřibská and Krasna Lipa, eventually reaching Šluknov and the German border again at Sebnitz, was a wonderful drive. We highly recommend it for experiencing what Czech country is really like and the beauty of České Švýcarsko.
Quick Facts
Trail: There are two trails, one red and one green. Both follow the other until much later when the red trail continues to Vysoká Lípa and the green trail branches off to go back down to Jetřichovice. The trails are well signed even if they are in Czech. There are many shelters along the way in case the weather changes. It is a fantastic walk that takes you up and down quite a lot, but well worth the effort.
Duration: The guy at the tourist info said the green trail would take two hours to walk. But it took us about three and a half hours in total, including breaks and lunch.
Elevation: I am not sure but at least 150 metres.
Tips: Be wary of tourist offices! ;)