Recommendations for Trips in the Area

Bartošovice v Orlických horách

Municipality located 6 km north from Kunvald. Border crossing for small border traffic with Poland was opened here. You can find the picturesque valley of Divoká Orlice river here, with famous Land Gate and Smugglers’ footbridge. Other settlements are incorporated in Bartošovice v Orl. H., such as Vrchní Orlice or Neratov.

Neratov

The first written record of the village dates back to 1550. The fame of a place of pilgrimage was born in the early 1660s. According to a record made eighty years later priest P. Kryštof Florián Blažej Drick from Rokytnice had a statuette of Virgin Mary in the shape he had seen in a dream; the figurine was transferred with a big ceremony from Rokytnice to Neratov on 15 August 1661. Shortly afterwards, on 8 September 1661 (birth of Virgin Mary) an unknown woman from Rokytnice was healed in Neratov. The news spread quickly. Many miracles were accorded to the help of the statuette and healing power of local spring, and groups of pilgrims started to pour to Neratov from nearby first, and later from far and wide. Popularity of the new place of pilgrimage was growing. “Liber consignationis” From early 18th century records three to four hundred miracles a year – healing and assistance of Virgin Mary, and the main pilgrimage on 15 August was attended by up to four thousand people.

Foundation stone for a Baroque church was laid on the eve of Assumption of Mary 14 August 1723, and the new place of worship was consecrated on St. Bartholomew’s Day 24 August 1733.

The church burned down on 10 May 1945. Panzerfaust grenade hit one tower, and devastating fire destroyed the roofs and wooden stairways in both towers, and melted the clockwork and bell. Since then efforts have been made to either renovate the church, or to demolish it. Drenched vaults collapsed on White Saturday 1957, and it was decided in 1958 that the property will be left to its fate. Neratov church entered a new period of its history after 1989, and it was listed as part of cultural heritage in 1992. The front facade, towers and clock were restored in 2003, and the inner walls were renovated one year later.

The church received its famous glass roof in 2007, and the roof moulding was reconstructed in 2008. Paving, choir loft and entrance stairs followed. The church has been equipped with liturgical objects in stages since 2013. Another reconstruction of the front was completed in 2018: Baroque face was returned.

Klášterec nad Orlicí

Town stretching along Divoká Orlice river was established in the 13th century. The easiest way from Kunvald to Klášterec is through Končiny (about 5 km). Gothic church, remnant of Crosiers monastery destroyed in the Hussite Wars, was renovated in 1452. Valuable fundament of the main altar can be found inside: stone plate with four coats of arms of George of Poděbrady inscribed.

Seven-kilometre educational trail Land Gate starts at the upper end, leading through the romantic valley od Divoká Orlice to the famous stone bridge. It was built between 1900 and 1913 on the spot where the river pushed its way in the gneiss rocks from Poland to Bohemia.

Pastviny

Pastviny municipality has two dominating features in its crest: water and lime tree. The water represents the dam built in 1938 on Divoká Orlice, retaining some 11 million cubic metres of water. The lake 7.5 km long serves mostly summer recreation purposes.

The lime symbolizes memorial trees: Vejda limes. The biggest is truly enormous: circumference 12 m, height 22 m and age over 850 years.

Rokytnice v Orlických horách

Population about 25 hundred, this town located 6 km from Kunvald is a genuine entrance gate into the Orlické Mountains. Recommended sightseeing includes the Artillery Fortress Hanička, which was constructed in 1936-1938 as part of the border fortification system. It is owned by the municipality today.
The fortress itself consists of six sections interconnected by underground corridors 1.5 km long. Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs tried to rebuild the fortress to a nuclear bunker in 1975-1995. Hanička offers not just a sightseeing tour, but also exhibits of combat gear, weapons and maps of the whole system.

Říčky v Orlických horách

Picturesque village known namely for its skiing resort (two lifts,, blue, red and black slopes, and well-maintained cross country skiing tracks around. Starting point for both summer and winter tourism in the Orlické Mountains. If you use the road from Kunvald via Rokytnice v Orlických horách, you will reach Říčky after 13 km.

Žamberk

The town of nearly seven thousand inhabitants lies about 6 km from Kunvald. The first historical notes on Žamberk date back to the 13th century. The local chateau, centre of the domain, was renovated onto the present shape in the early 19th century by count Windisch-Graetz, and it was later acquired by the house of Parish.

The premises include a very nice English park of 108 hectares area. Vocational school is located inside. St. Wenceslaus Baroque church was built in 1729-38.

The town offers accommodation facilities, swimming pool with two huge slides, tennis courts, and information centre (Regional museum in former Hospital of St. Catherine).

You can visit the birthplace of Prokop Diviš, the inventor of lightning conductor, in the local precinct Betlém by the road to Helvíkovice.

Suchá

In the middle of the forest called Suchá there used to stand a castle of the same name on the promontory between Kunvald, Pěčín and Rokytnice v Orlických horách.

According to some archaeological finds it was thought until recently there had been just a hillfort in Lusatian culture period. Present surveys confirm the Lusatian settlement, possibly with fort, but also a castle built in the 13th century.

It was abandoned long time ago, and today we can see only a remnant of castle moat running into a gorge under Ovčárek brook. Visitors could see what was left of the walls and cellars in the late 19th century. Everything was razed to the ground and destroyed during forestation works. The promontory offered convenient conditions for defence. The castle was probably built to protect the trading routes from Žamberk to Kłodzko. This is also indicated by the name of the old trail leading from Kunvald, still used today: Royal road. however, no written records of the castle have been preserved.

The place is surrounded by legends of a robber knight and his daughter, who was bewitched for her evil deeds.