Lešetice: Vojna Memorial, exhibitions and cycle paths

Lešetice draws attention to the Vojna Memorial, historical remembrance and paths through a landscape whose distinctive features can be discovered through specific places. At the centre is the Vojna Lešetice Memorial: it is the only preserved communist forced-labour camp in the Czech Republic. This makes it a destination where history is conveyed not only through an exhibition, but also through preserved and reconstructed parts of the camp grounds.

Historical tours and exhibitions

Tour A leads through the camp grounds with reconstructed historic buildings, including the former command building, the detention cell, the so-called bunker, the infirmary, the cultural centre, accommodation building G and other buildings. An exhibition in the command building covers persecution after February 1948 and the Third Resistance. The route thus combines architectural evidence with a specific historical subject. The various types of buildings give the tour a broad spatial dimension. Those interested in political history will find not only the exhibition, but also specific architectural reference points in the camp grounds.

Tour B offers a different perspective with the permanent exhibition “Uranium in Czech History”. It traces the development of uranium mining over the past two centuries and its effects on science, technology and society. Route C leads to the “ORBIS PICTUS: EUROPA” gallery, which features contemporary European visual art. In front of the main building, the sculpture “Obětem komunismu”, erected in 2010, also commemorates the victims of communism. The three routes focus on different subjects, allowing visitors to orient their visit more towards camp history, uranium mining or contemporary art, depending on their interests.

Paths around Lešetice

From Příbram, you can reach the Vojna Memorial via road I/66 in the direction of Milín. At Lešetice, turn right onto a local road towards Lešetice and the Vojna Memorial; the memorial is approximately 8 km from Příbram. This specific guidance also makes the site interesting for travel planning in which a visit to Lešetice is combined with other stops.

For cyclists, Cycle Route 302A leads from the Vojna Memorial via Zavržice and is a branch of Route 302. Another route connects the Vojna Memorial, Lešetice, Žežice, Brod, the railway station in Příbram and Svatá Hora. This connection thus complements the historical tour with a longer route through the surrounding area. One route leads via Zavržice; the other connects several stops in the Příbram area.

The Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands in the village square of Lešetice. Around Lešetice, spoil heaps recall uranium ore mining. The observation tower at the Vojna Memorial offers panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. These features complement the exhibitions with visible traces of local and industrial history.

When looking for a hotel in Lešetice, you can focus on the Vojna Memorial, the exhibitions, cycling or a combination of these subjects.

Further places for your research

In addition, you can compare the local pages for Sedlčany, Čenkov, Volenice, Tochovice, Koupě, Kozárovice, Těchařovice and Nová Ves Pod Pleší.

For the higher-level travel overview: Příbram District.