Why this ride
From Žatec it runs 147 km to Žatec; allow about 2 h 21 of riding. On the way it passes Mědník Hill Mining Landscape, Jáchymov Mining Landscape and back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Žatec and Jáchymov Mining Landscape
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 147 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 21
- 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. Žatec
The smell gives Žatec away in late summer. The fields around this small town in northwestern Bohemia are planted with hops, tall green vines climbing up wires on wooden poles, and when harvest comes in August, the air fills with their resinous, slightly bitter scent. Saaz hops, named after the German form of the town's name, have been prized by brewers for centuries for their fine aroma, and they are a key ingredient in Czech pilsner lagers. In 2023, UNESCO inscribed Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, recognising the town's hop warehouses, drying kilns, packing houses and the surrounding hop gardens as a unique agricultural and industrial heritage.
Read the complete Žatec write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Žatec is where the day begins. Next is Mědník Hill Mining Landscape.
2. Mědník Hill Mining Landscape
Mědník is a small, steep hill on the Czech side of the Ore Mountains, or Krušné hory, the range that forms the border between Bohemia and Saxony. It rises above the village of Měděnec, whose name, like the hill's, comes from the Czech word for copper. For centuries, miners tunnelled into the hill for copper and iron ore, and the hill is now part of the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region, inscribed by UNESCO in 2019 as a cross-border site.
Read the complete Mědník Hill Mining Landscape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mědník Hill Mining Landscape comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jáchymov Mining Landscape.
3. Jáchymov Mining Landscape
The word dollar comes from this small town in the Ore Mountains. In the early sixteenth century, the silver mines of Jáchymov, then called Joachimsthal, were among the richest in Europe, and the coins minted here were called Joachimsthaler, shortened to thaler, which became daler and eventually dollar. The town grew rapidly, with thousands of miners, and it is now one component of the World Heritage inscription for the Erzgebirge mining region, shared between the Czech Republic and Germany. Its later history is darker and stranger.
Read the complete Jáchymov Mining Landscape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Jáchymov Mining Landscape. Next is back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape.
4. back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mědník Hill Mining Landscape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape, late in the day. Next is Žatec.
5. Žatec
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Žatec write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Žatec. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Žatec to Mědník Hill Mining Landscape
Žatec → Mědník Hill Mining Landscape is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mědník Hill Mining Landscape to Jáchymov Mining Landscape
Mědník Hill Mining Landscape → Jáchymov Mining Landscape is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jáchymov Mining Landscape to back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape
Jáchymov Mining Landscape → back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape to Žatec
back through Mědník Hill Mining Landscape → Žatec is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.