Svitavy District: UNESCO culture, castles and trails

Svitavy District combines an impressive cultural history with paths through varied landscapes. This creates a special choice for planning your trip: you can focus on historic residences, town walls and museums, or spend your days on educational trails and cycle paths. Several experiences also feature unusual details that make your stay interesting beyond an ordinary visit to the sights.

Litomyšl: UNESCO and theatre history

Litomyšl Château has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1999. The Renaissance residence with arcades was influenced by Italian architectural models and was built between 1568 and 1581 for Vratislav of Pernštejn. Giovanni Battista and Ulrico Aostalli were involved in its construction. Particularly noteworthy is the preserved theatre from the late 18th century. It retains its original painted furnishings, stage sets and stage machinery – details that make the château’s historic character immediately tangible. The brewery where the composer Bedřich Smetana was born is located directly next to the château. Courtly architecture, music history and a concrete insight into the region’s past thus come together in one place. In Svitavy, a tour of the historic heritage adds to this cultural perspective: the route can be completed on foot in less than two hours. The Esperanto Museum on the ground floor of the Ottendorfer House focuses on the history, culture, literature and practical use of the language, with particular attention to Svitavy and the Pardubice Region.

Castles, town walls and museums

At Svojanov Castle, a guided tour includes the kitchen, pantry and furnished palace rooms from the 19th century. The underground tour also leads to a torture chamber and a lapidarium. Those wishing to combine their visit with a viewpoint can climb to the top of the 26-metre-high Hláska Tower. The different areas therefore offer contrasting focuses: residential and everyday history, underground spaces and views over the surrounding area all belong to the same castle visit. Polička offers a different approach to history. The medieval walls extend for 1,220 metres and include 19 bastions. The Bohuslav Martinů Centre presents modern exhibitions focusing on music and history. For a trip involving different interests, this makes it possible to combine one day with visible town fortifications and another with museum interpretation, without the cultural themes becoming repetitive.

Industrial history and protected landscapes

Industrial history is also present. The Mladějov Industrial Railway is an 11-kilometre-long narrow-gauge railway with a track gauge of 600 millimetres. It was built to transport clay, fireclay and regional coal. These technical specifications and its original purpose make it a subject in its own right alongside châteaux and museums. The Žďár Hills landscape extends into Svitavy District. It includes forests, stony fields, flowering meadows, ponds and peat bogs, as well as villages with examples of traditional folk architecture. The protected landscape does not represent a single excursion destination, but rather a varied setting with several defining elements.

Hiking, cycling and themed trails

The Hřebeč educational trails form a 70-kilometre system for hikers and cyclists. In terms of content, they explain the history of human activity on the Hřebeč Ridge and connect it with natural features and cultural heritage. There are 22 educational stations, eight starting points and six rest areas in total. Among other places, the trails lead to the Strážný vrch viewpoint, shelters on Mladějovský vrch and U vysílače, and several pits in the surrounding area. For shorter cycling days or rides with a different focus, the Maštale microregion lists nine cycle routes. The selection therefore ranges from a densely themed route devoted to mining history to several cycling routes. Svitavy District can consequently be planned as a cultural trip, a landscape-focused stay or a combination of both. The best location for your accommodation depends above all on whether you want historic places, museums or trails through the landscape to be the focus of your stay.

Places for your further selection

For further orientation, you can look at the directly assigned places individually: Policka, Rozstání, Porici U Litomysl, Pusta Kamenice, Moravská Trebová, Oldris, Bela Nad Svitavou, Borova U Policky, Chotenov, Chrastavec, Janov, Jedlova, Nedvezi, Nemcice, Svitavy, Bystré U Poličky, Čistá, Vranová Lhota, Leitomischl, Bohuňovice, Želivsko, Gruna, Banín, Staré Město, Borušov, Brněnec, Budislav, Březiny, Březová Nad Svitavou, Cerekvice Nad Loučnou, Chmelík, Chornice, Desná, Dětřichov U Svitav, Dětřichov U Moravské Třebove, Dlouhá Loučka, Dolní Újezd, Hartmanice U Poličky, Pohledy, Hradec Nad Svitavou, Koclířov, Jarošov, Javorník, Jevíčko, Kamenná Horka, Karle, Korouhev, Kukle, Kunčina, Lavičné, Linhartice, Lubná, Městečko Trnávka, Mikuleč, Mladějov Na Moravě, Sloupnice, Osík, Pomezí, Radiměř, Rohozná U Poličky, Rozhraní, Rudná, Rychnov Na Moravě, Sádek, Bělá U Jevíčka, Svojanov, Telecí, Trpín, Útěchov, Vendolí, Víska U Jevíčka, Vítějeves, Benátky, Bezděčí U Trnávky, Biskupice, Bohuňov, Březinky, Hartinkov, Horní Újezd, Chotovice, Janůvky, Jaroměřice, Koruna, Květná, Makov, Malíkov, Nová Sídla, Nová Ves U Jarošova, Opatov, Opatovec, Příluka, Pustá Rybná, Radkov, Řídký, Sebranice, Sedliště, Sklené, Stašov, Strakov, Suchá Lhota, Široký Důl, Študlov, Tržek, Třebařov, Újezdec, Vidlatá Seč, Vlčkov, Vrážné, Vysoká U Jevíčka, Křenov.

For the higher-level travel overview: Pardubice.