Through the country of battle of Kolín | mukolin.cz

Battle of Kolín tour – visit the places where the bloody events took place on 18the June 1757

Our trip will start traditionally in Karlovo náměstí (Charles Square). From here go down Pražská street straight towards the crossroads at Modrý bod. From here we will continue through Benešova street towards Štítary where we will turn right up the hill. Go along the street Za Školou to a field asphalt road and leave this road directly in front of Křečhoř. We will continue further into the village where we will join the yellow touristic track which will lead us to Klavary – however, let´s go step by step. First, the yellow sign will lead us to the Memorial of battle of Kolín on Křečhoř.

The memorial comes from 1898 and it was built to celebrate 50 years of reign of emperor František Josef. From this place we have a wonderful panoramic view of the whole Polabí (the Labe area) and when the weather is nice we can also see Bezděz and the silhouettes of Ještěd and high mountains in Krkonoše, such as Černá hora. From this place we will follow the yellow sign to Kamhajek and further 700 metres on the road I/12 via Vítězov to the hill Bedřichov (279 above sea level). This is the place from where Prussian king Bedřich II commanded his army. The local memorial was established in 1840 – 42. From Bedřichov a steep slope will lead us to Nová Ves. There we can find St. Václav Church (St. Wenceslas Church) which was rebuilt in pseudo-romanesque style in 1886 and the church has two bells from 1550 and 1552. On the outskirts of Nová Ves we will cross the railway Kolín – Praha and we will continue along a field path towards Klavary where we will join the green touristic sign which will lead us back to Kolín (on a narrow path along the Labe). The trip can be finished by a visit to the old Jewish cemetery which we will pass on the way.

The tour is 20 km long and the elevation difference is 200 metres. The routes are comfortable – asphalt or nice field roads, only in the part between Klavary and Kolín along the Labe there is a narrow, in summer an overgrown path with roots and stones so I recommend being extremely careful and taking a bottle of insect repellent.