Javůrek: Nature Park, Trails and Historical Traces

Javůrek combines a wooded valley landscape with cycling and hiking trails, traditional customs and traces of its former craft and mining history. Three quarters of the Javůrek area lie within the Údolí Bílého potoka Nature Park. This includes the settlement of Šmelcovna and a larger built-up part of Javůrek. Those looking for hotels in Javůrek will find a place whose distinctive features arise above all from the interplay of natural landscapes, trails and historical evidence.

Wooded Valley and Protected Landscapes

The part of the Údolí Bílého potoka Nature Park located in Javůrek is a wooded landscape in a narrow, rocky valley along Bílý potok. The nature-rich character of the nature park provides a habitat for a variety of forest animal species. In the eastern part of Javůrek, near the northern municipal boundary, there is also the Natura 2000 site “Rozsypaná”. Valuable scree slopes and ravine forests shape this protected landscape area.

There are various documented routes in the direction of Šmelcovna. The first kilometre of the route from Javůrek to Šmelcovna runs along a dirt track to Javůrecká hájenka. In the vicinity of Javůrek, Šmelcovna is a popular destination for hikers and cyclists. A 45-kilometre cycling tour to Šmelcovna leads via Javůrecká hájenka and through the valley of Bílý potok. Another cycling route leads from Šmelcovna along the uphill section of Železná stezka towards Javůrek. The short dirt track, the 45-kilometre tour and the uphill section represent different routes between Javůrek and Šmelcovna.

Customs and Evidence of Local History

A special event in Šmelcovna is “Vítání jara”. It has taken place every first Sunday of spring since 1902; during the event, Morana is thrown into Bílý potok. This recurring custom connects the landscape with an established local tradition.

Javůrek itself also has several historical points of interest. The chapel on the village square was built in 1834 as the Chapel of Saint Florian and converted and rededicated in 1940 as the Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. At the crossroads to Domašov and Lesní Hluboké stand the Boží muka, built in 1807 and a significant immovable cultural monument in Javůrek.

Kubův most is the only surviving bridge of the former Báňská horská cesta, now called Železná. In the vicinity of Javůrek, Šmelcovna is also home to the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, dating from 1905. Under the name “Železářská huť”, fragments of masonry structures from a formerly extensive complex for processing iron ore can be found there. The Stříbrnické štoly are designated in Javůrek as a registered significant landscape feature at a former mining site.

Other Places in This Overview

For further orientation, here you will find Braníškov, Želešice, Doubravník, Bratčice, Pozořice, Nelepeč-Žernůvka, Litostrov and Ochoz U Brna.

To the higher-level travel overview: Brno-Country District.