Up the Sázava to the Gold Town
Okolí Prahy · Point to point · hiked 20 January 2024
A 22.9 km winter walk up the Sázava from Týnec — the razed castle of Zbořený Kostelec, wooded valley paths, and a finish in the old gold town of Jílové u Prahy.
A Sázava-country day within commuting distance of Prague, bracketed by two very different kinds of history: a castle that was deliberately demolished, and a town that was deliberately dug hollow — for gold.
From Týnec nad Sázavou station the route follows the river downstream to Zbořený Kostelec. The short scramble up to the ruin is the first-third climb the profile promises, and the platform above the Sázava is the view of the day; take a minute for the siege earthworks in front of the walls — you can still read the 1467 assault in the ground. Beyond the castle the way passes the Panská skála rock and climbs away from the river through the Požáry woods.
The middle third crosses quiet plateau country through Těptín and Pohoří — unspectacular but fast walking, welcome in January — before the final descent through Kabáty into Jílové u Prahy. The gold-mining museum on the square is the right way to close the loop of the day’s theme, and the station below town runs trains back to Prague on the Posázaví line.
Practical info
| Start | Týnec nad Sázavou railway station — by train, bus |
|---|---|
| End | Jílové u Prahy railway station — by train, bus |
| Terrain | forest path |
| Links | Open route on Mapy.com |
| GPX | Download track |
On the way
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Zbořený Kostelec
The "Demolished Kostelec" — a 13th-century royal castle above the Sázava, besieged and razed in 1467, with siege earthworks still visible and a fine view into the river valley.
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Jílové u Prahy
The medieval gold town of Bohemia — centuries of mining under and around the town, a museum devoted to gold, and visitable mine galleries in the wooded valleys nearby.
