Karlštejn and Berounka River

A 336 km loop

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Why this ride

Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. A 336 km loop that starts and ends near Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav, about 7 h of riding. On the way it passes Lovosice, near Rakovník, near Dobříš and Modřany. Long stretches are under trees.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav fuel

   The twin town of Brandýs nad Labem and Stará Boleslav faces itself across the Elbe, and each half carries a different kind of history. Stará Boleslav is where Wenceslas, the duke later venerated as Saint Wenceslas, was murdered by his brother Boleslav in the tenth century. Its basilica became one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in the Czech lands, and on 28 September, the national holiday, pilgrims still arrive in large numbers.

   Brandýs, on the other bank, is dominated by its Renaissance château, a favourite hunting seat of the Habsburgs, decorated with sgraffito and surrounded by gardens. The last Austrian emperor, Karl, lived here as a young officer. The old town square, with its arcades and colourful houses, is a lovely place for a break.

   The riding nearby is easy-going. The Elbe plain is flat, with long stretches of road between fields and riverside forests. The river is lined with floodplain woods and old meanders, home to herons and beavers, and in summer the air smells of grass and water. Further north, the land rises towards the sandstone country around Mělník and Kokořín, where the roads start to wind among rocks and pine forests.

   Traffic can be heavy on the main roads towards Prague, especially at rush hour, and the D10 motorway nearby is a fast but dull option. Prefer the minor roads, but watch for cobbles in the towns and uneven surfaces in villages. The town has plenty of fuel stations, supermarkets and restaurants, as you would expect from a place of almost twenty thousand people. Stop for a coffee on the square in Brandýs, cross the river to the basilica, and then head north towards the rocks and castles.

2. Near Lovosice, on the way back swim

   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.

3. Food stop near Rakovník food

   Rakovník guards its old centre with a pair of Gothic gate towers, and the taller of them, the Prague Gate, looks as if it has been borrowed from the capital's skyline. The town is the centre of a rural district west of Prague, known for its hops and beer, and the surrounding countryside is a gentle mix of fields, orchards and wooded hills. It has a calm, slightly sleepy atmosphere that suits a lunch stop well.

   The real attraction lies to the south and east, in the Křivoklátsko, one of the largest continuous forests in central Bohemia and a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Berounka river winds through a deep valley here, and the royal castle of Křivoklát, once a hunting seat of Czech kings, stands on a rocky spur above the forest. The roads through the forest and along the river are a delight, with tight curves, changes in elevation and very little traffic.

   Riding in this area requires attention, as roads can be narrow and surfaces variable. Watch for wildlife, especially deer and wild boar, and for local drivers who know the roads better than you do. In summer, the river valley is popular with canoeists and campers, and some roads may be busier. In autumn, the forests turn gold and red, making for a spectacular ride.

   Rakovník has fuel, supermarkets and restaurants, so it is a good place to fill up before heading into the forest, where services are limited. Local pubs serve Czech food and beer from nearby breweries. From here, the route follows the Berounka towards Karlštejn, the great Gothic castle built by Emperor Charles IV to house the crown jewels.

4. Photo stop near Dobříš swim

   Dobříš is a small town in Central Bohemia, about forty kilometres south-west of Prague, set on the edge of the Brdy, a long range of forested hills. The town is best known for its Rococo chateau, built in the eighteenth century for the Colloredo-Mansfeld family, with formal French gardens and an English-style park. After the Second World War, the chateau served for decades as a retreat for Czechoslovak writers, and it is now open to visitors again.

   The surrounding landscape is dominated by forests and ponds. The Brdy hills were a closed military area for much of the twentieth century, and as a result they remain largely wild and undeveloped. In 2016, a large part of the area became a protected landscape area and was opened to the public. Ponds and small reservoirs dot the countryside around Dobříš, and some are used for swimming in summer.

   The riding around Dobříš is pleasant, with quiet roads winding through forests and farmland, and a few short climbs into the hills. Surfaces vary from smooth to rough, and some smaller roads are narrow and patched. Traffic is generally light away from the main road to Prague.

   Dobříš has fuel, shops and restaurants, making it a convenient stop. If you are looking for a swim, ask locally about the best ponds, as conditions and access vary. The Vltava and the Slapy reservoir are also not far to the east, offering more opportunities for water and scenery.

5. Near Modřany finish

   South of Prague, the Vltava leaves the city through a deep, wooded valley, and the suburbs give way to villages, orchards and cliffs. It is a place of transition: the city's traffic behind you, the Bohemian countryside ahead.

   The Vltava is the river of Smetana's famous symphonic poem, and its course south of Prague is a chain of dams and reservoirs, beginning at Vrané with a small dam and power station, then rising toward the larger lakes at Slapy and Orlík. The valley is lined with weekend cottages, a Czech institution: under communism many families built small chatas in the countryside, and the tradition of leaving the city on Friday evening is still strong. Zbraslav, on the river nearby, has a former Cistercian monastery turned chateau.

   The rides from here head west to Karlštejn and the Berounka. Karlštejn Castle, built by Emperor Charles IV in the fourteenth century to protect the crown jewels and his collection of holy relics, rises from a wooded hill above a narrow valley, with towers stepping up to the Great Tower and its chapel decorated with gold and precious stones. The surrounding Bohemian Karst is a landscape of limestone cliffs, caves and quarries, including the flooded quarry known as Velká Amerika, sometimes called the Czech Grand Canyon, and the Koněprusy Caves. The Berounka valley itself winds through forest, with roads following the river in long curves.

   The roads around here are mostly narrow, with variable surfaces, cobbled sections in some villages, and tight bends through the woods. Weekends bring cyclists and day-trippers, and the road to Karlštejn can be crowded. Remember the Czech rules: dipped headlights are required at all times, and the legal alcohol limit for drivers is zero. Prague itself has trams, cobbles and congestion, so leave early to avoid the city's traffic.

   For fuel and supplies, Modřany and Zbraslav are close, as are the larger towns along the main roads. Village pubs serve hearty Czech food, such as goulash, roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, and of course excellent beer, which is for the evening, not the ride. Bring a jacket, as the river valleys can be cool and damp in the morning, even in summer.

6. High point near Sázava swim

   Sázava is a small town on the river of the same name, east of Prague, best known for its monastery, one of the oldest in Bohemia. The Benedictine abbey was founded in the eleventh century by Saint Procopius, a hermit, and for a time it was a centre of Slavonic liturgy before Latin replaced it. Today, the monastery is a museum, with a Gothic church, Romanesque remains and medieval frescoes.

   The Sázava river winds through a deep, wooded valley here, and it is popular with canoeists, campers and swimmers in summer. There are several places along the river where people swim, and campsites with access to the water. Check conditions locally, as currents and water levels vary.

   The town also has a long tradition of glassmaking, and the old Kavalier glassworks was once one of the most important in the country. The surrounding countryside is a mix of forest, fields and small villages, with plenty of quiet roads to explore.

   The riding here is pleasant, with roads following the river valley and climbing onto the surrounding plateau. Bends are frequent, and some roads are narrow and rough. Traffic is generally light. Fuel and food are available in Sázava and nearby towns. As a high point, the plateau above the valley offers views over the forested hills and the winding river below.

7. Scenic stretch near Český Brod swim

   Český Brod means Czech Ford, and the name tells you why the town exists: a crossing on the old trade road running east from Prague towards Kolín and the Elbe lowlands. Merchants, armies and pilgrims all came this way, and the town grew fat enough on the traffic to build walls. A stretch of fortification and a stout gate tower survive, and the long square, with its church and arcaded houses, is a calm place to sit for ten minutes at the end of a ride.

   The bigger story lies a few kilometres east, on a low rise above the fields. At Lipany in 1434 the radical Hussite field armies, the Taborites and Orphans who had beaten crusade after crusade for fifteen years, were finally crushed by an alliance of moderate Hussites and Catholic lords. A memorial mound marks the battlefield. There is not much to see beyond the monument and the wide horizon, but standing there with the wind in the wheat you get a sense of how open and exposed this country is, and why cavalry and wagon forts mattered so much.

   The landscape is gentle: big arable fields, orchards along the lanes, copses of oak and pine, and a scattering of fishponds. Some of the ponds and small reservoirs in the area are used for swimming in summer, especially around Klučov and the woods towards Kounice. Water quality varies with the season and a hot August can turn ponds green, so look at what locals are doing before you jump in.

   As a finishing stretch the riding is easy-going. The roads roll over shallow hills with long sightlines, and the minor routes between villages are quiet if patchy in places. The main road back towards Prague can be busy at commuting times. Fuel, a supermarket and a few pubs serving svíčková and cold Bohemian lager are in town, which is about all a tired rider could ask for.

8. Back to Karlštejn and finish

   The dot sits east of Prague, in the broad valley of the Elbe at Brandýs nad Labem and Stará Boleslav, two towns that run into each other across the river. It is a long way from Karlštejn, on the other side of the capital, and the ride is on its way home, crossing the flat farmland of the Polabí, the Elbe lowland, where the land is wide, the roads are straight and the sky is huge.

   Stará Boleslav is a place of deep significance for the Czechs. According to tradition, Prince Wenceslas, the good king of the Christmas carol, was murdered here by his brother Boleslav around 935, after being invited to a feast, and the spot is marked by a Romanesque church. Pilgrims come each September on the saint's day, and the town is also home to a famous Marian shrine, a small image of the Virgin that was carried into battle by Habsburg armies. Brandýs nad Labem, across the river, has a Renaissance castle, once a hunting lodge for the emperors, and a quiet old centre.

   The earlier part of the ride lies in the valley of the Berounka, west of Prague, and Karlštejn castle is the highlight. Charles IV had it built in the 1340s to protect the imperial crown jewels and holy relics, and its great tower, with a Chapel of the Holy Cross decorated with precious stones and painted panels, stands above the village on a steep limestone crag. The road from Karlštejn through the Berounka valley is narrow and winding, with high rock walls and pretty villages.

   By comparison, the final stretch is plain riding. The roads around Brandýs are busy with traffic bound for Prague, and the Elbe is crossed by bridges that can be congested at rush hour. Speed limits are enforced, and in towns, the cobbled centres can be slippery. At a quiet moment, though, the river bank has trees, benches and a calm, wide view.

   Fuel is easy in both towns, with supermarkets and cafes near the main square, and there are a number of traditional pubs serving beer and hearty food. Kostelec nad Labem, a smaller town nearby, is pleasant and has an old castle. In spring the orchards are in blossom, and in autumn the fields are brown and mist hangs over the river.

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