National parks are the jewels of our country. With their uniqueness and exceptionally preserved nature, they showcase the natural form of the landscape in which we live. They are the "metropolises" of life, where we can find many rare species of plants, fungi, animals, and entire biotopes.
I would like to invite you to these beautiful corners through tips for routes that I have tried myself. I personally fell in love with each of our national parks and would find it hard to choose a favorite among them. You will surely judge their beauty for yourselves; I am just happy to recommend where to head. :-)
A small natural science window
A national park is the highest level of protection, covering a larger natural area that is valuable for its uniqueness or state unaltered by humans. Nature conservation takes precedence here over all other activities because the goal is to preserve the area in its natural state. It is not just animals and plants that are protected here, but also entire ecosystems and the processes that take place in nature. An example is the tolerance of the spruce bark beetle, whose presence is met with considerable displeasure in commercial forests, but which forms a natural part of mountain forests and contributes to their renewal and health.
The oldest national park in the world was founded almost 150 years ago in Yellowstone (1872), and the first in the Czech Republic became the Krkonoše National Park in 1963.
Podyjí National Park
National parks in your hands (a guide to using the series)
I welcome you to a four-part series in which I will introduce our national parks one by one. However, there are plenty of articles on the internet that recommend interesting places to see in a given location. I therefore decided to approach the topic a little differently and offer you specific routes with a link to a map.
Each part is therefore a small guide that will lead you across the national park and show you some of its beauties. Together we will visit famous, but also less known (yet no less interesting) unique places. The routes are usually quite long, but it is entirely up to you whether you decide to walk them in their entirety as they are, divide them into several shorter trips, or just get inspired and visit only some of the recommended places.
Podyjí
Total route length: 45 km (route map)
We will start our expedition to the national parks with the smallest, yet definitely exceptional one. Its location in the border area and steep terrain prevented the construction of cottages and dams, so an unspoiled landscape has been preserved here to this day. You can find it along the Dyje river between Znojmo and Vranov nad Dyjí, right at the border with Austria. We are, of course, talking about the only Moravian national park – Podyjí.
And why is it so exceptional? It is the best-preserved and least touched river valley in the Czech Republic, which is 42 kilometers long. Many rare species have their home here; let us mention the Hardegg service tree, which lives exclusively in Podyjí.
Znojmo, Znojmo – I see you double
Backpack on your back, trekking poles in your hands, we set off from the town of Znojmo, which forms the imaginary gateway to the park. Znojmo is famous not only as the center of an important wine region but also for its historical monuments and atmosphere. We can see, for example, the thousand-year-old Rotunda of St. Catherine or the largest underground cellar system in the Czech Republic (27 kilometers on four floors!). From the town, we will also get our first beautiful views of the national park winding from the Znojmo dam.
Along its calm surface, we will climb up to the rock viewpoint Sealsfieldův kámen, where truly magnificent views await us. On the other bank, we will also see the great viewpoint Králův stolec, which we will visit another time. After the water reservoir, we will descend back to the Dyje river, cross it after three kilometers via a long wooden footbridge, and climb up again through one of the oldest and most famous Czech vineyards – Šobes.
Views as a sweet reward
More breathtaking views will open up to you, especially at the Železné schody viewpoint. A few kilometers further, you can turn off to the impressive ruins of Nový hrádek with a tour circuit (must arrive during opening hours). The view of the Dyje from the high, half-ruined castle tower is undoubtedly worth it. Another interesting stop is the outdoor exhibition of border fortifications in Čížov and the visitor center of the national park administration right next door.
From here, it is three kilometers to the Hardegg viewpoint, from where you will see the Austrian town of Hardegg, headed by the majestic castle of the same name, which you can also visit for a tour. The route will further lead us through the Podyjí forests to the ice caves, caves created by the wild dance of water and frost. We will end our journey through the national park in Vranov nad Dyjí, where we can visit the Baroque chateau of the same name with its unique Hall of Ancestors by the world-famous architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.
Did you like Podyjí? And just wait until you visit its beauties in reality! However, we will meet next time in the Krkonoše Mountains.
