A Trip to the Premyslids at Levý Hradec

Levý Hradec will satisfy every tourist. Ancient history and mystique are combined with peaceful nature and beautiful views of the Vltava River valley. The starting point is Roztoky u Prahy, which, in addition to education, offers a variety of cultural events throughout the year.  

The journey starts at the Roztoky u Prahy train station, straight from where the blue tourist mark will lead you off. You will pass lavish First Republic villas and then a wooded valley with rock formations. The path winding along the Únětice stream will offer you varied and charming scenery. If you prefer to look at the world from above, however, there is the Alšova vyhlídka lookout just before Únětice, from where you will see the valley lie open. 

• Tip for you: If you have enough time, visit the Renaissance château in Roztoky. It is home to the Central Bohemian Museum with interesting permanent exhibitions and engaging occasional exhibitions. You can also stroll through the château park. In Únětice, be sure to visit the local gem: Únětice brewery from the 16th century. The U Lasíků restaurant is also worth a visit in Únětice, which will delight you not only with its wide selection of home-made cakes, honest sweet buns and many other delicacies, but also with the original design of the restaurant.  

From Únětice, the path leads past the ponds to the village of Černý Vůl and then along the yellow trail to Úholičky, where you will find a 19th century château. From there you will connect to the nature trail “Look around, man”, which will lead you to the Řivnáč lookout. From here it is only 1.5 km to the main destination of the trip: Levý Hradec. On the spur above the Vltava River you will see the Church of St. Clement with beautiful Gothic frescoes and enjoy the view of the Vltava River. In the 9th century, this was the site of the settlement of Prince Bořivoj I with the first Christian church in the Czech territory. During summer weekends you can also see the church from the inside. The fame of the settlement reached its peak in the 10th century; in 982 Vojtěch of the Slavníkov family was elected bishop of Prague. 

You can get back to the starting point either by train from the Roztoky-Žalov train station, which is about 1 km away from the settlement, or on foot following the green markings. Along the river it is only 3.5 km back to the start. For the last part of the trip, refresh yourself at the Medová kavárna café, a quiet corner with home-made cakes next to the settlement.