Discover Hořovice: History, Forest Park and Cycle Path

Hořovice between history and landscape

Hořovice combines local history, exhibitions and landscape to create a range of experiences within one destination. Highlights include the grounds of the Old Castle, the Church of St. Giles and the Hořovice Synagogue. The town also opens out towards the Brdy uplands through Dražovka Forest Park. This allows you to combine cultural discoveries with walks and orientation along the cycle path by the Červený potok.

Culture at the Old Castle

The permanent exhibitions of the Hořovice Museum in the grounds of the Old Castle cover the history of Hořovice, art casting, nail production, archaeological finds and the history of the Brdy Forest. The range therefore extends from regional everyday and economic history to landscape and archaeology. The topics have different focuses: art casting and nail production represent craftsmanship, archaeological finds represent older traces, and forest history represents the landscape area.

The Starý zámek Gallery organizes temporary thematic exhibitions in the rooms of the Old Castle in Hořovice. A second exhibition at the Old Castle is dedicated to historic gravestones from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

Sacred and Jewish history is also part of the townscape. The Church of St. Giles is considered the oldest religious centre of the original settlement of Hořovice; its first written mention dates from 1321. The building of the Hořovice Synagogue dates from 1903. The church and synagogue complement these museum contents with religious and Jewish testimonies. The dates help you view the town’s history across several centuries.

Dražovka and the Brdy Uplands

Dražovka Forest Park is part of the forests owned by the town of Hořovice. These cover approximately 145 ha and lie on the northern edge of the Brdy uplands. The park has traditionally served the residents of Hořovice for everyday stays, walks and recreation. For your planning, this landscape area therefore offers a clear counterpoint to the exhibitions and historic buildings in the town.

Information for the castle and cycle path

For a visit to Hořovice Castle, the larger car park is located behind the park at Sluneční brána. From there, it is approximately 700 metres on foot to the castle. The approximate distance helps you place this starting point within your daily planning without linking the cultural visit to a specific length of stay. This starting point therefore allows you to consciously include the short walk to the castle in your visit.

Cycling is also connected with a specific project along the Červený potok: the total length of the cycle path along the Červený potok is 1.23564 km. One project envisaged the construction of a cycle path along the Červený potok in the cadastral areas of Osek u Hořovic and Hořovice. The different wording is important: the length describes the cycle path, while the second detail refers to a planned construction project.

Further destinations to research

If you would like to consider further destinations in addition to Hořovice, you can find Podkozí, Zadní Treban, Vižina, Jivina, Otročiněves, Trubín, Osek and Felbabka here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Beroun District.