Trnová – Valley, Village History and Educational Trail

Trnová in the Bělský potok Valley

Trnová lies in the Bělský potok Valley and combines a clearly recognizable village history with marked trails through the surrounding area. This creates a place where historical traces and exploration of the landscape can be combined in different ways. Particularly notable are Farmstead No. 2, the area around Vísecký rybník and the Horní Bříza Educational Trail.

A Rare Rural Farmstead

The Roubenka No. 2 is at the heart of the village’s history. It is considered the oldest surviving building in Trnová. The core dates from around 1670 and is one of the few surviving examples of typical rural architecture in the Plzeň region. The term Roubenka refers to the historic log construction, while the dating highlights the building’s particular historical period.

The protected cultural monument comprises more than just the residential building. Farmstead No. 2 also includes a stable, a shed, a barn and an enclosing wall. Those interested in traditional village structures will therefore find not merely a single historic building here, but an example of rural architecture preserved as an ensemble. The village center itself is also of archaeological significance: it is an area with documented archaeological finds or with a well-founded presumption that archaeological finds are present.

Village Green and Castle History

Another prominent landmark is located on the village green opposite the municipal office, next to the bus stop. This is the monument in Trnová commemorating soldiers who fell in the First World War. It was unveiled on October 28, 1920. Its precise location also makes the memorial site a clearly identifiable element of the village landscape.

The Vísky Château is also part of the area’s cultural points of reference. Josef Raab built it in 1804 as a simple late Baroque château. Thus, a building dating from around 1800 complements the significantly older rural architecture of Roubenka No. 2. Together, the two sites represent different historical layers, without Trnová being confined to just one period.

Vísecký rybník and the Horní Bříza Educational Trail

Vísecký rybník lies in the Bělský potok Valley and is also known as Labutí, Hamr and Trnovský. It is located between Bouchalka Forest and the road from Trnová to Horní Bříza. This precise location connects the village reference with a landscape section incorporated into the Horní Bříza Educational Trail.

The educational trail includes Station 2, “Trnová – Vísecký rybník”. In addition, an approximately 5 km marked section is described, running from Vísecký rybník via Vísky Château to Modrý kříž. The entire Horní Bříza Educational Trail is marked as a 17 km circular route with ten stations in the area around Horní Bříza. For planning purposes, this means that the shorter described section and the larger circular route can be distinguished as two different scales of the same marked trail.

Other Places in the Same Broader Area

Other points of reference include Kaceřov, Chříč, Nečtiny, Dražeň, Zbůch, Krašovice, Bohy and Horní Bělá.

For the broader travel overview: Plzeň-Sever District.