Viewpoints in Jetřichovice

Bohemian Switzerland is a landscape of viewpoints, and the most famous of them are the Jetřichovice rock viewpoints with poetic names: Marie’s Rock, Vilemín’s Wall, Rudolf’s Stone. All three Jetřichovice viewpoints are named after members of the Kinsky family, who owned the local České Kamenice estate.

Marie’s Rock (428 m), originally a fire observation tower, was opened to tourists by Ferdinand Kinský in 1856 and named after his new wife, Marie Anna Kinská, née Princess of Liechtenstein. The view high on the rocks from a wooden gazebo was reopened to visitors in 2007 after the original gazebo was destroyed by a fire started by careless tourists in September 2005.

Vilemína’s Wall (442 m) was originally called Černá stěna, a name that is now almost forgotten. The wall was given its new name after Princess Vilemína Kinská, the wife of Rudolf Kinský. It was opened to the public in the mid-19th century and a wooden gazebo in the form of a hermitage was built here, but it has long since ceased to exist.

Rudolf’s Stone (484 m), also called the Promontory and formerly the High Stone, has been named since 1824 after Prince Rudolf Kinsky, who visited the rock in that year and later had a shelter built there. From the summit rock, it offers a unique circular view of the rocky landscape of the rear Bohemian Switzerland. A path leads to the top, ending with a strenuous climb up stone steps.

We recommend this scenic walking loop:

From Jetřichovice we follow the blue trail past the Church of St. John of Nepomuk. Across meadows with a view of Maria’s Rock and Vilemín’s Wall we head towards Kočičí Church (rock). We continue along the blue trail through the forest to the rock niche chapel of the Last Judgment, also called the Kny Chapel. Here we turn right onto the red trail and continue along the foot of the rocky mountain Koliště to the Pohovka crossroads. We follow the red tourist mark further to Rudolf’s Stone (or Ostroh), from the top of which there is a circular view of the surroundings. From here we descend further via the Purkartický les crossroads and head towards other rock lookouts – Vilemín’s Wall and Maria’s Rock. From there, all that awaits us is a steep descent along the red trail (around the former children’s sanatorium) back to Jetřichovice.

Length: 10 km

Duration: 4–5 hours

Difficulty: demanding (climbing to the viewpoint on ladders)