Prague · Bohemian Switzerland Sandstone Roads

A 213 km loop from Mělník river

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Why this ride

Sandstone walls, river bends and a proper northbound escape. Out of Mělník and back again: 213 km, roughly 3 h 40 in the saddle. On the way it passes Hřensko gorge, Děčín cliffs and Litoměřice. It keeps to quiet secondary roads.

Roadbook

1. Mělník river gate sight

   Mělník stands on a spur above the meeting of two rivers, and the meeting is the thing. The Vltava, which has run north from the Šumava through Prague, joins the Labe, the Elbe, here, and from the terrace of the castle you can watch the dark Vltava slide into the paler Elbe and the two flow away together towards Germany and the North Sea. It is a very Czech view: flat fields, a long bridge, a few white churches, and orchards on the slopes.

   The castle belongs to the Lobkowicz family, who have owned it, on and off, for several centuries, and it is open to visitors, with a wine cellar and a collection of paintings and furniture. The wine matters here, because Mělník is the centre of the Bohemian vineyards, a small region of south-facing slopes where vines have been grown for a thousand years. Tradition credits Saint Ludmila, grandmother of Saint Wenceslas, with planting the first vines, and Emperor Charles IV is said to have introduced Burgundy grapes in the fourteenth century. The wines are mostly dry whites and light reds, and a dry white goes well with fish.

   In the old town, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul has an ossuary in its crypt, where the bones of some fifteen thousand people, dug up to make room for new burials, are arranged in neat patterns on the walls. It is macabre, quiet and oddly beautiful, and opening hours vary. Around it, the main square holds cafes, a town hall and a well, and the lanes lead down to the river through gateways in the old walls.

   The ride here is a gentle one: low hills, vineyard lanes, small villages and long views over the river plain, with light traffic and decent roads. The most scenic route follows the river bank and passes under the castle, and you can stop at the bridge to watch the barges. Mělník has about nineteen thousand people, so fuel, shops and places to eat are all on hand. Try a glass of local wine with a plate of cold meats and cheese in a vaulted cellar. Early autumn, during the grape harvest and the wine festival, is the best time to be here.

2. Hřensko gorge sight

   The Elbe, which the Czechs call the Labe, does something dramatic here: it cuts its way out of Bohemia through a deep sandstone gorge, and the village of Hřensko sits right in the neck of it, on the Czech side of the border with Germany. This is the lowest point in the Czech Republic, around 115 metres above the sea, and the river leaves the country here to run on through Saxony towards Dresden and the North Sea. The data labels it a German point, but you are right on the line, with the cliffs towering above.

   The sandstone is the star. Over millions of years the rock has been carved into towers, chimneys and narrow canyons, and the best known of them lie a short walk from here. The Pravčice Gate, the largest natural sandstone arch in Europe, stands on a ridge above the village, and the gorges of the Kamenice river, where flat boats are poled through narrow cliffs, are open in the warmer months. This is Bohemian Switzerland, a national park, and a magnet for hikers.

   The road along the river from Děčín is narrow and winding, with the cliffs on one side and the water on the other, and in summer it fills with coaches and cars. The best time to ride is early, before the first tourist buses, or on a weekday in spring or autumn. The border town of Hřensko itself is a bit of a tourist trap, with rows of souvenir stalls and cheap goods, but the setting is spectacular, and a coffee by the river is good value.

   Děčín, with about fifty thousand people, is the nearest large town for fuel and shops, while Bad Schandau, on the German side, is smaller but has a pleasant riverfront. The surrounding forests are home to deer, wild boar, and, quietly returned in recent decades, lynx. Take your time; parking is limited, and the gorge is worth walking. It is a short, steep detour that stays in the memory longer than most.

3. Děčín cliffs photo

   Děčín stands where the Elbe leaves the Czech Republic, and the river here is dramatic. The town sits in a gorge in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, with steep cliffs of pale rock rising straight from the water, topped with trees. The castle on the rock above the old town has stood guard on this spot for a thousand years, and from its terraces you look down onto the roofs, the river and the bridge. It is one of the more theatrical settings in Bohemia.

   The photograph here is the cliffs themselves. A viewpoint called the Shepherd's Wall, on the left bank of the river, looks across the river toward the castle and the town, and it is a favourite for sunrise and sunset, when the stone glows. A path leads up through the forest, and the view over the loops of the river and the stacked ridges beyond is memorable. Another viewpoint, on the high rock called Sněžník, lies not far away, with a lookout tower from which the sandstone landscape stretches out in all directions.

   The sandstone is the heart of the area. These rocks were laid down as sand in a Cretaceous sea, and erosion has carved them into pillars, gorges and rock towers, a landscape that has drawn painters since the nineteenth century. Downriver, the Elbe crosses into Germany and runs to Dresden, through the Saxon part of the same formation. The river was once the main trade route for coal, timber and grain, and old boat sheds and harbours speak of the days of steamers.

   Děčín is a town of more than fifty thousand, with fuel stations, supermarkets and plenty of cafes, so supplies are never an issue. The riding around it is varied: the road along the river is flat and fast, while the roads up into the hills are narrow and twisty, with steep sections and sometimes rough pavement. Summer weekends are busy with tourists heading for the national park, so an early start helps. In autumn, mist rises from the river and the woods turn gold, and the town takes on a moody beauty.

4. Litoměřice food food

   Litoměřice is the old wine town of northern Bohemia, and it feels like a smaller cousin of Prague with fewer crowds. It lies on the Elbe in the fertile basin beneath the Central Uplands, in a region called the garden of Bohemia, where orchards, vineyards and market gardens fill the plain. The main square is spacious and lined with arcaded houses, and the town has a cathedral on a hill and a number of baroque churches, giving it a quiet dignity.

   Litoměřice has been a bishopric since the seventeenth century, and the cathedral of Saint Stephen, standing on its hill, is a landmark visible from far off. The town was fortified in the Middle Ages, and part of the old walls survive. Vineyards on the slopes of the nearby hills, such as Radobýl, a cone-shaped volcanic hill with its own nature reserve, produce wines that have been drunk here since the days of Charles IV, who is said to have encouraged the planting of vines in the region.

   Just a few kilometres away lies Terezín, a fortress town built by Emperor Joseph II in the 1780s. In the Second World War the town was used by the Nazis as a ghetto and transit camp for Jews, and the Small Fortress was a Gestapo prison. A memorial and museum tell this history with dignity, and a visit is sobering and worthwhile, though it needs time.

   As a food stop the town is excellent. The main square has restaurants serving Czech classics, as well as lighter dishes and cakes, and local wine is on the menu in most places. Fuel is available in the town, which has about twenty-four thousand inhabitants, with stations on the main road, and parking for bikes is easy near the square.

   The roads around the town are calm, flat along the river and gently rolling in the hills, with the volcanic cones of the Central Uplands rising in the distance. A ride in the late afternoon, with the low sun on the vineyards, makes a lovely end to a day. Spring brings blossom, and autumn the grape harvest.

5. Back to Mělník river gate finish

   Back at Mělník river. That is the ride.

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