Louny - Libochovice (along the River Ohře)

Description of the route:

• Louny - Lužerady - Vršovice - Černčice - Počedělice - Slavětín - Peruc - Horka - Poplze - Kostelec nad Ohří - Budyně nad Ohří - Písty - Doksany - Brozany nad Ohří - Hostěnice - Žabovřesky nad Ohří - Libochovice

Louny

A possibility to have a swim in the indoor swimming pool, or there are the outdoor swimming pool grounds in the south-western edge of the town. The town walls and reconstructed bastions, the Žatec Gate, the neo-Renaissance town hall built between 1886 and 1887 and also the Gothic House of Sokols of Mory, today a museum, are the main attractions of the town.

Krásná vyhlídka /Beautiful View/

A view of the České středohoří /Bohemian Middle Uplands/, a popular trip destination of Svatopluk Čech /the famous Czech writer of the 19^th century/.

Šebín

Remains of the castle which was known even before 1350; it already became deserted and dilapidated in the 15^thcentury.

Myslivna

The nature reserve south-west of the village of Poplze, on the right bank of the River Ohře, in the western direction from the municipality of Kostelec nad Ohří. It is one of the last remnants of the floodplain forest with alders, poplars, willows, oaks, ash trees and maple trees. In the former gamekeeper's lodge used to be a guesthouse, often visited by representatives of the Czech cultural life  during the era of the First Republic /1918-1939/.

Budyně nad Ohří

The town is proud of its originally Gothic water castle. While touring it, we will definitely be excited with the interesting wall paintings from the 16th century, situated in the Golden Hall, the Janda´s Natural History Museum with collections of natural history specimens, and the alchemical workshop. Among the most famous exhibits is the so-called Budyně Dragon that is, in fact, a stuffed crocodile from the year 1518 (it is the oldest zoological stuffed preparation in Central Europe).

Brozany nad Ohří

The Renaissance fortress from the 16^th century; nearby the Renaissance mill (house No. 75) with a mansard roof, which is a cultural monument now. Then, there is the Romanesque Church of St  Gothard from the 13^th century, later rebuilt into a Gothic church and then in the Renaissance style.

Libochovice

The city is located in the picturesque countryside of the lower Egerland lined with romantic hills of the  České středohoří /Bohemian Middle Uplands/. Libochovice Castle is situated in the middle of the city, on the site of an older Gothic fortress, which Jan of Lobkowicz commissioned to be turned into a Renaissance chateau in the years 1560-1564. Its later owner, Gudakar of Dietrichstein, had the chateau rebuilt in the Baroque style between 1682 and 1690, and therefore it now belongs to jewels of the Baroque architecture of North-western Bohemia. Jan Evangelista Purkyně, the Czech scientist and a representative of the national revival, whose father worked as an administrator at the chateau, was born here. The chateau houses a classic interior exhibition that represents a cross-section of different historical styles, ranging from the late Renaissance through Baroque to 19th-century styles. The exhibition includes a rich collection of china, a collection of precious wall tapestries and paintings. Around the chateau lies a beautiful extensive park, consisting of French gardens with regularly shaped tree species and of the natural landscape park with many dendrologic landmarks.