On 1 October 1756, on the fields around Lovosice, Frederick the Great's Prussian army fought an Austrian force in the first battle of the Seven Years' War, a conflict that would spread across Europe and around the world. The battle was indecisive, but the Austrians withdrew, and the war went on for seven long years. Today the battlefield is farmland and vineyards, with a few memorials, and the town of Lovosice is a modest industrial place on the Elbe.
The landscape around it is anything but modest. The České středohoří, the Central Bohemian Uplands, is a range of volcanic hills, cones and domes rising steeply from the Elbe valley, with forests, orchards and vineyards on their slopes. The Lovoš, a cone-shaped hill just north of town, offers wide views, and Milešovka, a little further west, is known as one of the windiest places in the country. The Elbe winds through a gorge between the hills, and the views from the roads are spectacular.
A few kilometres away, Litoměřice is a beautiful old town, the seat of a bishop, with a large main square, Baroque churches and a wine-growing tradition. Terezín, just across the river, is a fortress town built by Emperor Joseph II at the end of the eighteenth century, which the Nazis turned into the Theresienstadt ghetto and concentration camp; the memorial is a deeply moving place to visit.
For a swim on the way back, there are flooded gravel pits along the Elbe plain, some with bathing spots and kiosks, and the water is clear and refreshing in summer. Choose a designated spot, as some lakes are private or used for fishing. The roads through the uplands are winding and scenic, with good surfaces and little traffic. Lovosice and Litoměřice have fuel, supermarkets and restaurants. The ride from Bohemian Switzerland, with its sandstone cliffs and the great natural arch of Pravčická brána, follows the Elbe valley south.