Brtníky

The village of Brtníky (German: Zeidler) properly belongs to the municipality of Staré Křečany. It is located in the Šluknov promontory 8 km west of Rumburk on the border of the Lusatian Mountains and the Elbe Sandstones. With its location on the edge of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, it serves as its northern entrance gate. The oldest settlement in this area was documented in the Middle and Late Stone Age based on archaeological findings. In the historical period, the settlement of this locality is documented only from the time after 1084, when the neighboring Mikulášovice was founded during German colonization. The first written mention of Brtníky dates back to 1116, when Petr Berka founded a large beekeeping farm called Zeidelweide here.

What you should see

Stations of the Cross – located approximately 300 meters east of the village on Křížový vrch (446 m above sea level), on its western slope above the road to Rumburk. It was built in 1801–1804 and supplemented the older Chapel of the Holy Trinity. It consists of thirteen niche chapels, the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and the now-defunct Garden of Gethsemane. It was last renovated in 2016.

Chapel of the Holy Trinity – The Baroque sacral building dates from 1768, and the Stations of the Cross were added in 1801–1804. After World War II, it fell into serious disrepair, and was renovated in 1998–1999 and 2016. The bell of St. Clare dates from 2016.

Brtníky Ice Falls – A large overhang with beautiful ice decorations in winter.