Okounov – History, Nature and Views

Okounov Between History and Landscape

Okounov combines a multifaceted local history with protected landscapes and special excursion destinations. The entire municipality of Okounov, including all four cadastral areas, lies within the Doupovské hory Bird Protection Area (CZ0411002).

Church and Traces of the Past

A parish church existed in Okounov by 1363 at the latest and was supposedly built in the Romanesque style. The church in Okounov burned out in a major fire in 1863. Its reconstruction began that same year, and it was consecrated on November 4, 1866.

Okounov is also home to a Baroque group of statues depicting the Virgin Mary, Saint Stephen and Saint Lawrence, dating from 1707.

East of the present pseudo-Gothic church lies the former site of the Okounov fortress. It can be identified by the remains of a moat; nothing remains of the buildings. A fortress probably already stood in Okounov between 1359 and 1368; it was last mentioned as abandoned in 1540. A smaller, unusual reminder of the area's history is the folk bell station Zvonička vidlák from the mid-19th century: a small bell hangs there on a simple support in a naturally forked part of a tree beneath a simple wooden roof.

At the former fortress site, only the remains of a moat have survived; the bell station, by contrast, consists of a small bell in a naturally forked part of a tree beneath a wooden roof.

Pastviště and the Lookout Tower

Pastviště u Okounova is a rocky ridge on a former communal pasture, featuring narrow-leaved dry grasslands and extensively mown lowland and upland meadows. The area is also home to a population of dwarf cherry (Prunus fruticosa). The Okounov Lookout Tower (Pastviště) is an eight-metre-high wooden tower with an open platform at a height of seven metres. It was built in 2023 from turned acacia trunks obtained on Holý vrch.

From Okounov, an approximately 250-metre-long, unmarked forest path leads from the road to Oslovice to the lookout tower, gaining around 40 metres in elevation. This precise route description helps you consider the viewpoint as a destination in its own right, without losing sight of the historical and landscape aspects of Pastviště.

Cycling Route and Water Sports

Cycling Route No. 3004 runs from Vejprty to Okounov. It is 25 kilometres long, paved, rated as easy and suitable for all types of bicycles. The Ohře is an important recreational feature of the region and is used for water sports. Thus, the options described range from a clearly characterised cycling tour to activities on the water.

Cycling Route No. 3004 is 25 kilometres long, paved and rated as easy; access to the tower is approximately 250 metres long, unmarked and gains around 40 metres in elevation. At the destination, the open platform of the eight-metre-high wooden tower is located at a height of seven metres.

More Destinations

If you would also like to compare other destinations, you can find more places under Jirkov, Mašťov, Hrušovany U Chomutova, Mezihorí, Bílence, Horní Halze, Kalek and Vysoká Jedle.

For the higher-level travel overview: Chomutov District.