Horní Kalná: Views, Cycling Route and Monuments

Horní Kalná combines tranquil landscapes with a remarkable density of small cultural monuments. Here you can discover a geological site with no access restrictions, follow a viewpoint trail, take a cycling route through several municipalities or, in good visibility, see Sněžka in the distance. There is also an annual nohejbal tournament and freely accessible open spaces in the lower part of the village. When choosing accommodation, it is therefore particularly relevant whether you would like to combine your stay mainly with walks, cycling, views of the landscape or discoveries related to local history and culture.

Views, Geology and Cycling

The Horní Kalná–kalenský obzor geological site can be reached without access restrictions. You can drive to within 250 metres of it. This makes it a clearly described destination for anyone who would like to include a geological site in their exploration of the village.

For a longer walk, the Horní Kalná Viewpoint Trail is available. It runs for 3 km from the settlement of Příčnice to the forest near Na Lánech and can also be reached from Kunčice nad Labem. The trail along the ridge near Příčnice offers views of the panorama of the Krkonoše Mountains. Horní Kalná is also home to the “Houpačka u kříže mezi lány” swing, which is part of the “Houpačky z hor” project. From this “Houpačka u kříže mezi lány” swing, Sněžka can be seen on the horizon in good visibility.

The 22 km cycling loop “Z Martinic do Branné a zase zpět” runs through Martinice v Krkonoších, Horní Branná, Dolní Branná and Horní Kalná.

Small Monuments with Their Own Stories

Numerous religious monuments have been preserved in Horní Kalná. They include chapels, wayside shrines, stone crosses, statues of saints, bell towers and a monument to the victims of the First World War. Individual sites give these scattered testimonies a particularly tangible character: at one wayside shrine stands a glazed Pietà statue erected in 1879 at the expense of Jan and Anna Kodym.

A statue of Our Lady of the Rosary stands by house number 112 on the road to the summit. Next to the school there is an 1819 cross with faded depictions of saints. At the place called U Třech svatých, there is in turn a statue of Saint Joseph with the infant Jesus. The Prášivka trail leads down to Horní Kalná, where several small monuments can be found in the village. This makes it possible to discover the local history not only at a single structure but at several specific points.

Space for a Different Daily Rhythm

In the lower part of Horní Kalná there is a freely accessible grass field and a paved area. In winter conditions, the paved area can be used as an ice-skating rink. Another local highlight is the annual nohejbal tournament “Bronzová kopačka Horní Kalné”, in which teams compete for a traveling trophy. These two features complement the trails and monuments with a public space and a recurring local event.

Horní Kalná as a Starting Point for Your Search

When choosing accommodation, you can shape the focus of your stay around the documented possibilities in the village: the viewpoint trail and the ridge near Příčnice are suited to a walking-oriented itinerary, while the 22 km loop is ideal for a cycling trip through several municipalities. Those who prefer combining short discoveries with local history and culture will find wayside shrines, crosses, statues and other monuments in the village. For your further search for suitable destinations, you can also compare Marsov U Upice, Dolni Lanov, Kocléřov, Choustnikovo Hradiste, Beckov, Malá Úpa, Cermná U Vrchlabí and Čermná v Krkonoších.

For the broader travel overview: Trutnov District.