Brdy

In the past, the Brdy mountain range was a dark forest where only robbers, vagabonds and lost souls wandered. Today, it is no longer such a deserted area, it has opened up to the public and more and more people are visiting and getting to know the well-preserved and beautiful countryside it holds.

865 metres above sea level

In the past, the Brdy mountain range was a dark forest where only robbers, vagabonds and lost souls wandered. Today, it is no longer such a deserted area, it has opened up to the public and more and more people are visiting and getting to know the well-preserved and beautiful countryside it holds.

For adventurers and explorers

In places they resemble Šumava in South Bohemia, elsewhere the Scottish moors or the Scandinavian taiga and tundra. The Brdy Mountains are the only mountain range in Central Bohemia - and the highest mountain range in the Czech hinterland – and have extremely well-preserved nature. They are not permanently inhabited, thus they represent an undeveloped and deserted mountainous island in the middle of the densely populated and urbanised landscape of Central Bohemia.

In unfarmed landscapes, where for centuries mankind has only been able to exploit the forest or mineral resources and has not settled there, the plant and animal species that have disappeared or are rare elsewhere have been preserved. It has also become their refuge. This was further helped by a large part of the Brdy becoming a military training zone - the forest-free firing ranges and impact areas are now among the most valuable conservation sites due to their extremely valuable ecosystems.

When canons roared…

For almost ninety years, the Brdy Mountains were the site of an artillery and air gunnery training range. Several important garrisons were based here, and several classified and heavily guarded facilities, including a nuclear ammunition depot, were placed here. Prior to World War II, the former military training ground was used to test the durability and functionality of the border fortifications being built in the republic. Several armies took turns to use the training area.

The German army built some roads, airfields, bunkers, and operated an important radar on the top of Mount Praha, used for navigating Luftwaffe night fighters. In addition to a number of bunkers, observation posts, firing ranges, engineer shelters, garrison quarters and their facilities, the Czechoslovak army also built a highly strategic underground combat HQ for the event of having to conduct World War III.

A landscape of solitude and quiet

Brdy opened to the public in 2016 and is the youngest protected landscape area in the Czech Republic. The network of hiking and cycling trails is gradually expanding. This makes it easier and easier to explore this often overlooked landscape.

You can set off for the highest point of Central Bohemia, Tok Peak (865 m). It is surrounded by a landscape that was a former firing range. The nearby Houpák Hill (794 m) is also worth a stop off. The bare summit offers probably the most beautiful panoramic view in the Brdy. The former Jordán target area will attract all those that love military history with artefacts from training bunkers and observation posts. The second highest mountain in Brdy, Praha Peak (862 m), is also a popular destination. Today there is a meteorological radar tower here, and near the top you will discover a number of beautiful viewpoints.

Padrťské Lakes is one of the most famous places in the Central Brdy region - both for its charming and impressive landscape and for the turbulent fate of the nearby villages, which were razed to the ground in connection with the expansion of the military area. The Upper Pond, surrounded by deep forests and wetlands, resembles a mountain lake, while the more rugged Lower Pond evokes a landscape from South Bohemia. Both are the largest water bodies in the Brdy.

The largest and most popular castle ruin in Brdy is Valdek. It stands on a rocky outcrop with a large blockfield above the valley of the Červený Brook. The castle stood here in the 13th century but was considered to be derelict from the 16th century on. The romantic ruins were visited by many Czech artists, such as Karel Hynek Mácha, Božena Němcová and Karel Jaromír Erben. Opposite the castle rises Jindřichova skála, the largest rock formation in Brdy. The romantic Tři Trubky Chateau, built by Prince Jeroným Colloredo-Mannsfeld of Dobříš, can be found in the charming valley of the Třítrubecký Brook.