Why this ride
A 281 km round trip from Łęknica - roughly 4 h 46 in the saddle. On the way it passes Herrnhut, Jizera Mountains and back through Herrnhut. It crosses Poland, Germany and Czechia - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski and Jizera Mountains
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 281 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 46
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski
Muskau Park straddles a river and a border. The Neisse flows through it, and since 1945 it has been the frontier between Germany and Poland, which means that half the park lies in Bad Muskau and the other half in Leknica. Visitors walk across a reconstructed bridge from one country to the other, with no checks, and pass from the German part of the park to the Polish part in a few minutes. UNESCO listed the park as a joint site in 2004.
Read the complete Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski is where the day begins. Next is Herrnhut.
2. Herrnhut
Herrnhut is a small town in Upper Lusatia, in the far east of Saxony, with a name that means roughly "under the Lord's watch". It began in 1722, when Moravian Protestant refugees were given land on the estate of Count Zinzendorf and built a settlement here. From that settlement grew the Moravian Church, which sent missionaries to the Caribbean, Greenland and Africa within a decade and still has communities across the world. The town today feels calm and slightly austere in a way that suits the story, with straight streets, plain Baroque houses and a church hall whose big white room is simply there to hold people.
Read the complete Herrnhut write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Herrnhut comes up about 80 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jizera Mountains.
3. Jizera Mountains
The Jizera Mountains sit in the far north of Bohemia, right where the Czech Republic meets Poland and Germany, and they have a stern, quiet character that sets them apart from the better-known Krkonoše to the east. Hejnice, at their foot, is a small town in the valley of the Smědá river, famous for a large Baroque pilgrimage church with a basilica and a Franciscan monastery. Above it, the ridges rise to forested plateaus and open peat bogs, with roads that thread between spruce and beech.
Read the complete Jizera Mountains write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 141 km into the recorded legs you reach Jizera Mountains. Next is back through Herrnhut.
4. back through Herrnhut
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Herrnhut write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Herrnhut, late in the day. Next is Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski.
5. Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski to Herrnhut
Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski → Herrnhut is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Herrnhut to Jizera Mountains
Herrnhut → Jizera Mountains is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jizera Mountains to back through Herrnhut
Jizera Mountains → back through Herrnhut is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Herrnhut to Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski
back through Herrnhut → Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.