Trips

The smallest town that has ever been awarded the title of "Historic City of the Year" is Spálené Poříčí which is only 3 km from Hořehledy. The town offers its visitors several restored historical monuments - a Renaissance castle with parks, a Baroque granary in the courtyard with a permanent exhibition of cartoon humour by Jiří Winter, a Jewish cemetery and a former Jewish merchant's house, the church of St. Mikuláš, a mill with a functional mill wheel and much more. It is best to visit the information centre directly on the square.

In September 2014, the first Buddhist shrine in the Czech Republic was built on the opposite peak of the Hořehledy valley. The stupa can be reached by a refreshing walk directly from the hotel. The reward for climbing the hill will be a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside and a place full of energy and activity. Although you may not have a relationship with religion, this trip is definitely worth it

Classicist hunting castle Kozel built at the end of the 18th Century. The four-winged ground-floor building around the rectangular inner courtyard was supplemented by two pairs of buildings - a chapel with a riding hall and a counterpart to the butler with a stable, thus creating a complete complex. It also includes a beautiful park with a pond (boat rides) or a mini golf course.

You can park your car at Kozel Castle and follow the blue path through the park and the forest to Hádecký potok. Here you will join the F.X France nature trail, from which you will descend to the yellow sign by the Neslivský pond. The yellow one will take you back to the blue sign directly below the ruins of Lopata Castle. The trip can be supplemented by a tour of the castle park or the castle itself.

Radyně Castle stands on the hill of the same name (569 m above sea level) between Pilsen and Starý Plzenec.  This royal gem was built before 1361 during the reign of Charles IV.  Today, only the ruins stand from the former royal castle = the perimeter walls of the palace with both towers.

In Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, you will find the Podbrdské Museum founded in 2010, which also includes an exhibition of historic cars. The exhibition will introduce you to the oldest history of the poor region under Třemšín when the estate was administered by the Lviv of Rožmitál and to the time when Jakub Jan Ryba taught and worked here. There are also original works of folk art, the Church of St. Vitus made of rye straw stalks on a scale of 1:60 and the largest collection of carved coats of arms in Bohemia

Nebílovy Castle is located about 20 km from Hořehledy towards Pilsen. Nebílovy Castle is a representative of typical Viennese Baroque architecture, unique in the Czech lands. Tuvor's painting, especially the dance hall, is absolutely unique. The 1400 m2 painting presents a fantastic subtropical landscape with animals, plants and ancillary architectures. At present, the front castle wing is open to visitors together with three rooms and a large dance hall in the representative rear wing

The largest mining museum and, at the same time, one of the oldest museums in the Czech Republic, was founded in 1886 in Příbram. Its long existence has enabled the creation of a large number of exhibitions and attractions, thanks to which the museum is visited by over 100,000 people a year.

Zelená Hora Castle, the dominant feature of Nepomuk, was built on the site of a fortified hill originally from the Hussite wars. During its history, it changed a large number of owners and administrators and became known to the general public thanks to the filming of Miloslav Švandrlík's novel - Black Barons. The building is part of the Ministry of Culture's project to save valuable monuments and it is currently only accessible during the summer.

You will find the Blatná water castle on the road connecting Nepomuk and Písek. Today's castle complex Blatná is undoubtedly one of the most historically valuable and architecturally most important monuments of its kind in our country. With its long history, distinctive architecture in the rare preserved environment of parks and water areas and the current state, it is one of the jewels among Czech castle complexes. With the beautiful view of the castle itself and its surroundings, you can enjoy Romanesque carriage rides, various period events or falconry demonstrations.

The ruins of Valdek Castle can be found south of Hořovice. Valdek was founded in the second half of the 13th century by the powerful Buzic family. Only the ruins of the original large castle are preserved today, except for the massive tower, the walls of the palace and several outbuildings, and the remains of the walls. At the end of the 19th century, the castle, then part of the Hořice estate of the princes of Hanau, was somewhat restored in the spirit of the Romanesque ideas of the time. In particular, new linings were installed in the gate and the gate through which the castle is entered and the windows of the northern palace. The castle, standing in deep forests, gave rise to many legends. In the 19th century, the Roman ruins attracted Karel Hynek Mácha in particular, who intended to write a four-part historical novel from the time of Wenceslas IV, one part of which was to be called Valdek. However, only excerpts from the novel have survived.

The town of Spálené Poříčí is only 3 km away. In addition to visiting historical monuments (castles, chateaux, museums), we recommend a visit to the local information centre, where they have prepared many activities for children, led by a popular historical tracker!

The zoo in the West Bohemian metropolis was established in 1926 in the Doudlevce district near the city centre. Since 1963, it has been operating in the current area in Lochotín, where it merged with the neighbouring botanical garden in 1981. The rugged natural area has an area of 21 ha, and since 1996, it has been intensively transformed into a zoogeographic bio park. You will find many modern exhibits here, such as brown bears, chimpanzees, monitor lizards, lions and much more..

In the area of the Zoological and Botanical Gardens in Pilsen on an area of 3 ha, there is an exposition of 30 dinosaur models from the period called Trias, Jura and Křída. The largest model, the apatosaurus, measures 23 m and was the only one to be assembled on site. The popular Tyrannosaurus rex is also present. There is also a paleontological playground in DinoPark, where children discover a dinosaur skeleton. You can also visit a Dinoshop, Dinocafé and a 3D cinema.