Okna – Culture, Hiking Trails and Landscape

Okna combines listed cultural heritage, colour-coded trails and a landscape where lowlands, mountains and the panorama of Bezděz Castle come together. If you want to choose between local history, hiking and cycling for your trip, you will find several clearly distinguishable starting points here for planning your day.

Culture and Local History

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the focal point; it is a protected complex under heritage protection. The complex includes the church, the former cemetery, the surrounding wall with three gates, the main and side staircases, the sculptures of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, as well as a gravestone. A large bell dating from 1594 hangs in the church tower in Okna. The local festival tradition is also associated with specific years: Shrovetide events took place in Okna in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Hiking and Cycling Routes Around Okna

For routes through and from Okna, the colour-coded hiking trails offer different directions. The green hiking trail leads through the built-up part of Okna to the railway station and continues towards Bezděz. The yellow hiking trail starts at Okna railway station and leads towards Žďárský les. At the U Maršů signpost, it connects with the Březínské studánky educational trail. The railway station and signpost provide concrete points of reference for your own planning. Visitors to the library in Okna can use the internet free of charge.

There is also a direct local connection for a cycling trip: Okna has a cycle path used by tourists on their way to the Kokořínsko region. The shorter cycling loop “Cycling in the Footsteps of Mácha along the Traces of Extinct Castles” passes through Okna and Houska and forms an approximately 25 km loop from Doksy and back to Doksy. The approximate distance helps you incorporate this loop into your personal day plan.

Landscape and Further Destinations

The surroundings of Okna include the Starý Berštejn ruins as well as the Berkovský vrch, Malá Buková, Velká Buková and Lysá mountains. The broad lowlands, with their lowest point at 280.80 m above sea level, are bounded to the east by the panorama of Bezděz Castle. South of Okna, the Okenský potok feeds a pond system near Doksy. The Church of the Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity is also located in the wider regional surroundings of Okna.

Your Choice of Stay

When looking for accommodation in Okna, you can first decide whether the listed complex, the hiking connections, the cycling loop or the landscape is your main focus.

Further places for planning your trip include Ždírec V Podbezdězí, Cvikov, Prysk, Noviny Pod Ralskem, Radvanec, Dubnice Pod Ralskem, Bohatice U Zákup and Tuhan.

For the higher-level travel overview: Česká Lípa District.