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Recommended trips
Train hopping through the Odra Basin
Running through the town of Vítkov is highly picturesque railway line (no. 276), passing between Suchdol nad Odrou and Budišov nad Budišovkou. It is 39 km long and wends its way along the valley of the Odra River, Odra Basin, town of Odry, Vítkov, through the valley of the Čermná Stream, over the Vítkov Uplands and then on through the valley cut by the Budišovky Stream until reaching Budišov nad Budišovkou.
The text that follows gives you a brief list of interesting places along the railway line, places worth getting off and exploring. We wish you a pleasant train journey and some unforgettable experiences in the Nízký Jeseník countryside.
Suchdol nad Odrou: Memorial plaque at the station, Poodří Protected Landscape Area, Catholic church with clergy house and cemetery, evangelical church, 2 museums, memorial plaque to John Amos Comenius
Odry: Urban Heritage Zone in the town centre with numerous protected burgher’s homes, St. Bartholomew’s Church, the park of the former country house, possibility to bathe in the Odra River or at the town’s swimming pool, fishing in the river, the Silver Pond Natural Monument near Jestřáb and a chance to visit the Odra Highlands Nature Park. In the outlying district of Pohoř you can climb the Olšová Observation Tower.
Loučky: Wesselský Water Mill
Jakubčovice nad Odrou: Stone quarry (extraction started in 1876), 17th century wooden bell with a memorial information board in the village square, the Suchá Dora Nature Reserve
Heřmánky: The spring “Jubileum Quelle”, “Swedish Rocks” (Švédská skála) – a slate spur rising above the Odra River near the train stop (fortified settlement, view over the valley of the Odra River)
Klokočůvek: The rock formation “Fold Ensemble near Klokočůvek”, the holiday cottage area by the pilgrimage site of the Virgin Mary in the Rock (Panny Marie ve Skále)
Klokočov: Technical landmarks – water stop for steam engines and railway station building (now a field centre for the Odry branch of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation)
Vítkov: Parish and Cemetery Church of the Assumption of Mary, grave of Jan Zajíc in the cemetery, statue of the Swiss pedagogue J. H. Pestalozzi in front of the school on Opavská Street, statue of St. Mark in front of the neo-Gothic church, statue of St. Florian beside the clergy house garden, sports recreation area (mini-golf, tennis courts, playground), campsite with bathing in Podhradí (5 km away in the Moravice Valley) and beside the Vítkov Balaton (2 km), above Podhradí is the ruined castle of Vikštejn (founded by Vítek of Kravař in the first half of the 13th century), possibility to fish.
Čermná ve Slezsku: Parish Church of St. Margaret with cemetery, in front of the church is the statue of St. John of Nepomuk and a stone cross, in the valley of the Budišovky Stream is a summer chalet settlement known as “Čermenský Mill” (Čermenský mlýn) with defunct galleries and spoil heaps after the quarrying of slate. North-west in the forest is the Black Mine Natural Monument (Černý důl) – a wintering site for bats in the abandoned slate mine.
Kružberk Reservoir: Reservoir for drinking-water supply on the Moravice River, training rocks for climbers below the dam and a recreation area, marked footpaths through the Moravice Valley to Jánské Koupele, Podhradí and east to Hradec nad Moravicí.
Budišov nad Budišovkou: Church of the Assumption of Mary, Slate Museum, Baroque stone bridge, statue of St. John of Nepomuk, campsite with a natural reservoir for bathing, ruined castle of Vildštejn (4 km).
Trip to Maria Talhof
Route: Vítkov – Podhradí – Vikštejn – Dubová – Radkov – Podhradí – Annino Údolí – Podhradí – Vítkov
Length of route: 25 km
From Vítkov you set off in the direction of Podhradí along the marked blue footpath. In the village Podhradí, beneath the chapel and between the fences, follow the rocky path upwards to the ruined castle of Vikštejn, from where you get a wonderful view of the Moravice Valley.
We recommend taking time to explore the castle Vikštejn ruins before returning to the main path and continuing to follow the blue signs to Radkov. The blue footpath will take you all the way to the pilgrimage site of Maria Talhof.
Should you not wish to continue on foot, follow the yellow footpath to Melč, from where you can return to Vítkov by bus. As you enter the village, take a good look at the pretty country mansion (now a children’s home) with its beautiful park.
Those of you wanting to walk the entire route, continue in the opposite direction down the yellow path along the Melčský Stream and around the Stone Sea (Kamenné moře) to the Moravice Valley. Here the yellow path ends. Now start to follow the path marked in red and take it towards Annino Údolí – Podhradí. In Annino Údolí you will pass a private farm on the left and a closed quarry on the right.
In Podhradí you can choose whether to complete the final leg of the trip “under your own steam” or take a ride back to Vítkov on the bus.
Walk to Kružberk Reservoir, Velké sedlo
Route: Vítkov – Podhradí – Zálužné – Jánské Koupele – Kružberk – Satoňovice – Čermná ve Slezsku – Vítkov
From Vítkov take the blue marked path towards Podhradí. In the village of Podhradí pick up the tourist footpath marked in red and walk upstream along the Moravice towards the campsite at Zálužné. You will be walking along a narrow path along the banks of the Moravice River through forest. This section of the walk is tough, rocky and in places quite steep. We don’t recommend waking it with small children or a pushchair. From Zálužné, carry on up the red-marked path to the hamlet of Jánské Koupele and on to the village of Kružberk. Walk through the village and, still on the red path, you will begin to make your way through a summer chalet area, around the settlement of Velké sedlo and the training climbing cliff until you reach the foot of the dam. Now continue along the main road until you get to Svatoňovice. Here you can jump on the train or take a bus to Budišov nad Budišovkou or Vítkov.
Kružberk Reservoir: The section of the route from Vítkov through Podhradí and all the way to Kružberk Reservoir primarily follows forest and field tracks. They will take you on an idyllic stroll along the picturesque banks of the Moravice River.
Jánské Koupele: This is a former spa resort, with a spring of iron-rich carbonated mineral water. Today the spa is no longer operative and the springs have been stoppered. The area is now a large summer resort in the breathtakingly beautiful valley of the Moravice.
Kružberk Reservoir: This reservoir was built on the Moravice River in the years 1948–1955 as the first valley reservoir in the Odra catchment area. The concrete dam is 32.6 m high and situated on foundations of solid rock, formed from Culm slate, greywacke and conglomerate. Part of the water works comprise a 19.6 m high, earth-fill embankment on the right hand tributary of the Lobník, which serves to catch load sediments. In order to preserve the water quality of the reservoir, strict hygiene standards are enforced in the catchment area.
Trip to the Slate Museum in Budišov nad Budišovkou
Route: Vítkov – Klokočov – Klokočůvek – Hadinka – Čermenský Mill – Budišov nad Budišovkou and back by train or bus
Leave Vítkov along the main road, passing the train station and heading towards the village of Klokočov. Head on further towards Františkův Dvůr. You will be following field tracks and begin to descend a switchback path down to the village of Klokočůvek. This small village boasts the pilgrimage site known as Mary in the Rocks (Mária ve skále). Next, take the blue-marked footpath towards Hadinka. Should you continue, you will pass by the Čermenský Mill and along the valley of the Budišovka River, until you reach the small town of Budišov nad Budišovkou.
Slate Museum: The whole route follows the blue-marked footpath and sticks to valley floors – cut by the Odra and Budišovky rivers – passing over forest and field tracks. Along the way you will see abandoned slate-mine workings. At the goal of your walk you might want to visit the Slate Museum in Budišov nad Budišovkou (www.budisov.eu and www.krajinabridlice.cz). Your return leg from Budišov nad Budišovkou to Vítkov can also be undertaken by foot, or you can take a bus or train.
Walk to the Hradec nad Moravicí Castle
Route: Vítkov – Podhradí – Annino Údolí – Žimrovice – Hradec nad Moravicí
From Vítkov set off towards Podhradí along the blue-marked footpath. Behind the settlement of Podhradí on the first switchback section of the path, pick up the red-marked path and continue down to Aninno údolí. You will pass by a chicken farm, before following a forest track contouring above the Větřkovský Bridge, the Fisherman’s Hut (Rybářská chata) and above the Melecký Valley, as far as Žimrovice. The entire walk takes you downstream along the banks of the Moravice and through the beauty of this picturesque countryside of the Moravice microregion. From Žimrovice, you can either head back to Vítkov by bus, or continue on to Hradec nad Moravicí – still following the red path – from where you can also take one bus back towards Vítkov. In Hradec nad Moravicí there is an exceptional castle that would be a shame to ignore (www.zamek-hradec.cz).
Annino Údolí: This was the site of a former glue factory with a hydroelectric power station and an interesting mill race, founded in 1866 by the owner of Vítkov’s Antonín estate, Freiherr Záviš. Today the area is occupied by a private farm.
Žimrovice: A paper mill weir, built upon the orders of the entrepreneur Carl Weisshuhn. At first, he set about developing his profitable trade in lumber and firewood, which were plentiful in the surrounding forests, and along the river he built a water mill to power his saws. Later he established the glue factory in Annino Údolí. Another project was to build his own paper mill in Žimrovice. A 4–5 metre wide tunnel was first cut under Goat’s Ridge (Kozí hřbet). On this 3.6 km long mill race, buried in the rocky slope and which still carries water to the paper mill today, was built the paper mill weir, three tunnels and several aqueducts. The mill race was used to float timber as well as drive a hydroelectric power station that supplied the city of Opava and its surrounding district with electricity. The entire waterworks (weir and race) is registered in the list of technical monuments.