Mandava cycle route

For us, who live in the Šluknov region, Mandava is a concept. Something like the Elbe for the whole of Bohemia or the Nile for the Egyptians, probably because we don’t have any more significant flow here…

For the sake of accuracy and interest, I will add: just a short distance from where the Mandava originates, the Spree River also originates. Although it only flows through our territory for a few meters in the Fukov region, it is already a very significant flow for our northern neighbors!

The Mandava itself is only forty kilometers long, and from its sources in the vicinity of Staré Křečany, it carries its name only to the nearby Žitava, where it flows into the Lusitania Neisse.

This introduction is here because a cycling route has recently been opened that actually copies the course of the Mandava and offers a rather interesting trip for cyclists – even for those who don’t feel like pedaling uphill. Because, as we know, if there are no waterfalls on the river, it flows slowly and calmly into the valley, so there are no trickles.

The route runs along the axis: Brtníky, Staré Křečany, Rumburk, Seifhennersdorf, Varnsdorf, Großschönau, Hainewalde, Mittelherwigsdorf, Zittau (Žitava) – and promises a large number of interesting locations that are worth stopping at, or turning off and looking around the nearby surroundings.

For today, I will recommend two such places, one almost at the beginning of the route and the other at its end.

When you climb from Brtníky above Staré Křečany, you will reach one of the Mandava springs. There are several of them, but the one that is marked as the real one on the maps is in a place where there is a breathtaking view not only of the Lusatian Mountains – from here you can also see Ještěd and perhaps even the Krkonoše Mountains, and on the other side somewhere towards the České středohoří Mountains.

Those who have seen it will surely remember that less than ten years ago, there was a not-so-fun frog-and-mouse war between tourists and businessmen over the land where the Mandava originates. But now there is peace, quiet and a pleasant place to sit, as you will surely appreciate if you go here.

You may not want to leave the sources of the Mandava, but if you decide to continue to the destination, i.e. to Zittau and the place where it flows into the Lusatian Neisse, pay attention to the unique (and recently reconstructed, in 2022) bridge in Zittau.

It is the Prince Friedrich August Bridge, which was built at the end of the eighteenth century and is unique because it is directly crossed by railway (narrow gauge) and road traffic. It is certainly the only one of its kind, at least in Central Europe, and although I am not exactly a nerd and this feature of it would have escaped me at a glance, when you realize it, it is actually fascinating.

By the way, the narrow-gauge railway line also invites you to take a trip to Oybin or Jonsdorf… But more on that next time.

The Mandava cycle route is open and although it was not unknown to orthodox cyclists and tourists, the fact that it is now marked will also help us who were worried that we might get lost. All towns and villages on the route participated in the opening and marking of the route – Staré Křečany, Rumburk, Seifhennersdorf, Varnsdorf, Großschönau, Hainewalde, Mittelherwigsdorf, Hörnitz, Olbersdorf, Zittau, as well as the Zittau Mountains Nature Park and Czech Switzerland, a public benefit company. The entire project was co-financed by the Ústí nad Labem Region and marked by the Czech Tourists Club thanks to a regional subsidy.