Žďárské vrchy
highlands
The granite crown of the Vysočina — rock tors above spruce woods, headwater streams in every direction, and Santini's star-shaped church at Žďár.
Walk these hills tor to tor: Devět skal (836 m, the second-highest point of the Vysočina), Čtyři palice and Malínská skála all break out of the spruce ridges, each a natural viewpoint and a climbing playground — string a few together and you have the day. The train puts you in Žďár nad Sázavou in around two and a quarter hours, with Nové Město na Moravě as the other base. And notice the streams: water leaves here in all directions — the main European watershed crosses the hills, and the Svratka and Sázava both rise in them.
Žďár nad Sázavou at the southwestern foot holds the region’s masterpiece, Santini’s star-plan pilgrimage church of St John of Nepomuk on Zelená hora (UNESCO). Snow lasts long up here and summers stay cool — the local phrase calls it the roof of Bohemia’s weather, and a walker learns why.
At a glance
- Countryside
- Forested hills studded with granite tors
- Protected as
- CHKO Žďárské vrchy, since 1970
- Highest point
- Devět skal, 836 m
- From Prague
- Around two and a quarter hours by train to Žďár nad Sázavou
- Best time
- May to October
- Bases
- Žďár nad Sázavou, Nové Město na Moravě
Places worth walking to
Hlinsko · Tisůvka · Žákova hora · Žďár nad Sázavou · Zelená hora
