FOREST ZÁTIŠÍ: WANDERING THROUGH THE HIGHLAND FORESTS

Do you long for a trip where you won't be swallowing kilometres and constantly checking out the sights? You can just go out into the forest solitudes and silences in a forgotten corner located in the very centre of the Vysočina Region. This place is known as Zátiší. And Count Waldstein-Wartenberg, who built a hunting lodge and then a family villa here, probably had the same thoughts and impulses.

Contact

58851 Batelov
region Jihlava
Period: summer

Spend beautiful moments in the silence of forest giants and wander through romantic forests on the border of three districts. Between the 600m peaks of the true mountain landscape of forests, fields and pastures, small roads and paved forest roads wind their way through. The edges of the forests offer views - to Třebíč, Jihlava and the Žďár area. Sometimes you will come across wells in the forest.

Solitary cottages offer a base to take care of the local forests. And you can reminisce about the time of the famous Wallensteins and look for traces of them.

Route description or Where to go

Start your panoramic tour of this landscape of fields and forests at an altitude of over 600 m above sea level in the oldest village in this region - Kamenice. Not only the name, but also a number of archaic-looking buildings give evidence of the age of the village, including a Renaissance fortress with a museum and the former fortified church of St. James. However, we promised ourselves that this trip would not be about the sights Therefore, leave Kamenice on the road in the direction of Velké Meziříčí and ascend behind the village of Brodek all the way to the wooded ridge

Here three districts meet: Třebíč, Jihlava and Žďár. Here you will come across a yellow marked hiking trail which will take you with a right turn onto a paved forest road into the heart of the woodland. At first you will climb up the slope of Panský kopec Hill (668 m above sea level), but you will pass the summit only after you reach the desired altitude of 600 m. Then continue on in the direction of the yellow marked trail. Leave it at the point where it veers off the tarmac, following it to the solitary Forest Garden. Turn left here and go in a straight line to the Zátiší Château.

We recommend taking a look at the giant Douglas firs standing next to the château, before going across the road towards the pond. After the château, leave the road and head back into the forest in the direction of the U Buku Gamekeeper’s cottage, where the blue marked hiking trail heads At the gamekeeper’s cottage you will leave it and switch back to the forest roads that wind around the woods. First over the Hradiště hill (662 m above sea level), then a long downhill through the forest to Žákův mlýn Mill and Svatoslav. Along the way, don't be attracted by the criss-crossing blue marked hiking trail, for it won't lead you to your destination.

On the other hand, you will join cycle path 103, which will take you all the way to the village. Care must be taken along the entire section of the descent, particularly with regard to the drains that pass over the road surface. From Svatoslav take the road back to the forest towards Zátiší. However, do not go all the way to the château, instead turn left at the edge of the forest along the forest path to the massif of Smrček Hill. The way up will lead you to the Smrček gamekeeper’s cottage with a nearby radio transmitter, and here again you will come across a yellow marked hiking trail.

This will take you another 500 m to the crossroads, from which those want to can take the unmarked path to the highest peak of the massif, Smrček (674 m above sea level). You will return back to the crossroads and using the now unmarked forest road circling the mountain ridge from the west, head northwest towards the road to Radošov. Your wanderings through the forests end at the solitary hamlet of Cípy, and the next part of the trip will take you along the road into the open mountainous landscape. And the road will, it seems, alternate between ascents and descents all the more. You will see this immediately in the case of Radošov - you go down, and then you will go up again when you leave the village.

At the sharp curve, instead of going to Horní Smrčné, continue along the dirt road towards Vržanov. Follow the winding paths through fields and pastures, admire natural sights with rare species of flowers and after Vržanov descend into the Kamenička valley almost within sight of the Jihlava river valley. The last 2 km heading in an upstream direction will lead you back to the sights of Kamenice and a visit to the museum in the fortress.