Kadaň – Castle, Monastery and City History on the Ohře

Kadaň combines medieval city history with notable sites along the Ohře River. The originally early Gothic Royal Kadaň Castle stands on a gneiss rock above the Ohře. The preserved Gothic cellars house a museum exhibition on the history of the castle. The castle also offers guided tours of its best-preserved cellar areas featuring the exhibition “History and Development of Kadaň Castle.” Its location on the rock connects the castle with the Ohře river landscape. During a tour, city history, architecture, and the history and development of Kadaň Castle come together in a single visit.

Castle, Monastery and City History

The Franciscan Monastery of the Fourteen Holy Helpers is a national cultural monument and is known for its unique murals and a rare cell vault. You can choose from four tour routes there, all of which can only be completed with a guide. The Franciscan Gardens can also be visited; they include vineyards and several domestic animals. This makes it possible to combine interiors, guided tours, and visitable gardens when planning a day of culture.

Town Hall, Fortifications and Special Insights

Kadaň’s white Gothic town hall tower dates from the early 16th century, is 53.75 metres high, and is the tallest building in the city. Its viewing gallery offers wide views over the surrounding area and helps visitors get their bearings in Kadaň. Katova ulička provides an unusual historical passage: it is 66.1 centimetres wide and leads through the fortifications to the executioner’s house. The fortifications of the royal town of Kadaň are among the best-preserved urban fortifications of their kind. The town hall tower and Katova ulička show two different scales of the city’s history: here, the 53.75-metre-high tower; there, a path only 66.1 centimetres wide through the fortifications.

The Kadaň City Museum oversees five heritage sites with six permanent exhibitions that can be visited during the main season. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic and preserves a Gothic core beneath its current Baroque appearance. Concerts are regularly held there. Since 2016, the tower of Svatá brána has also been open to the public, offering a different perspective on Kadaň.

Cycling along the Ohře

For active days, Nábřeží Maxipsa Fíka offers a pedestrian and cycling promenade with children’s attractions such as flying bicycles, a hamster wheel, and water attractions. The manually operated “Velryba” ferry enables visitors to cross the Ohře River. The fourth section of the Ohře Cycle Route begins in Kadaň. Another cycling tour follows the banks of the Ohře across Lávka Víta Brandy towards Rašovice and onward to Klášterec nad Ohří. The offerings are clearly distinct: the promenade combines exercise and children’s attractions, the ferry is part of the riverside experience, while the route along the riverbank takes the excursion towards Rašovice and Klášterec nad Ohří. This allows visitors to tailor their stay according to their interests, focusing more on culture, the river landscape, or cycling.

When choosing your accommodation, you can combine it with different focuses for your trip: historical sightseeing, viewpoints, events, or a cycling tour along the river. For other places in your travel planning, you can also consider Kryštofovy Hamry, Spořice, Otvice, Domašín, Klášterec Nad Ohří, Strupčice, Veliká Ves and Kovářská.

To the higher-level travel overview: Chomutov District.