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The Picturesque Podještědí Area

From the days of the fledgling Czech state onwards, Ještěd Peak - still regarded by our ancestors the highest mountain in Bohemia in the 1600s - has been a natural dominat feature of this particular stretch of the Northern Bohemian border. It was an important stopover on a major trading route known as the Záhvodská path, which ran from the Prague area to Lusatia through virgin forest in the border mountain range. The southern foothills of Ještěd Peak and the entire area of the Hlubocký mountain range were inhabited in primeval times. In or prior to the 11th century a large Slavonice enclave emerged in the area, protected by the meanders of the river Jizera to the east and south and the stunning basalt volcanic rock, known as the Devil's Walls, to the west. The remnants of this state-protected natural phenomenon can still be seen near Smržov. Several dozen hamlets and small villages then developed in the area, their focal point of power being the Klamora fortress near Chvalčovice.

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Between 1109  and 1115 Prince Vladislav I had a new castle, Vladislavice, erected on a rather low sandstone headland, on the site now occupied by the town of Český Dub. The name Vladislavice was then taken by the whole domain, which the Prince granted in 1115 to the newly established Benedictine monastery in Kladruby. From 1237 onwards the area developed under the influence of the Johannite order of knights which obtained the demesne from Lord havel of Lemberk and his wife Zdislava, who was cononized recently.
The local picturesque and slightly undulating landscape, intersected by the Mohelka stream with its manor tributaries and covered with the remnants of the original virgin forest, is peppered with small villages built during the reign of the first Přemysl Princess. In the 18th century the original small, mostly wooden churches were replaced by Baroque buildings made of brick, although many wooden sacred structures have survived to this day. For example, the church of St. Catherine in Vlastibořice, where a fortress stood in the Middle Ages, boast a 17th century wooden belfry, while a beautiful wooden church and belfry from the 1700s form the dominant features of Kryštofovo Údolí.
The pride of Mohelnice - the remarkably well-preserved and uniquely designed Church of our Lady, featuring galleries - is the oldest example of stone architecture in the local rural area. Erected between 1150 and 1175, it was one of the key buildings of the residence of the powerful Markvartic family of Nobles which in the course of the 13th century split into several branches, namely the Lords of Lemberk, Valdštejn (Waldstein), Zvířetice and Vartemberk. Mohelnice thus became one of the birthplaces of a family whose members were to help write the most important chapters in the history of the Czech State in the subsequent centuries. Nearby Chocnějovice boastthe Mid 13th century, early gothic Church of St. Gallus, a mute witness to events in the Middle Ages.
A beautiful farm building made from timber and covered with wild vines can be found in Letařovice. It stands near another medieval sacred structure, the Church of St. James, and a morgue. The farm's entrance hall has the date 1660 inscribed on the wall, recalling a time when the devastated land of Bohemia was recovering from the hardship of the Thirty Years' war. We recommend that you conclude your journey through the picturesque area of Český Dub with a visit to the villages of Paseky, Roystání, Jiříčkov and Světlá (where the Church of St. Nicolas stands), all of them located at the southern slopesof the Hlubocký mountain range and Ještěd Peak. Each of them boast a cluster of timber farm buildings and small cottages inhabited by the local poor in the 1800s. each of these modest homes - which the local people are rightly proud of - boasts a history charted in the works of Karolína Světlá, the founder of the Czech rural noval , who travelled there between 1853 and 1888. While there you can admire the stunning panorama of the Bohemian countryside with its dominant features, the mysterious Ralsko Peak, the proud silhouette of royal Bezděz castle, Kozákov abundant in amethysts, the romantic ruins of Trosky, and weather permitting, the spire of the tower of St Vitus' Cathedral in Prague.

PhDr. Tomáš Edel