Central Bohemia is a region of ancient castles, romantic rocky gullets, large forests and fertile plains, interwoven with large rivers. This region, surrounding Prague, is ideal for traveling.

The Protected Landscaped Area of Kokořín is a picturesque place within the Central Bohemian region, an area of sandstone rocks and ravines, scented pinewoods and also a site with remarkable monuments. The main tourist destination of the Kokorin region is Kokořín Castle, where one can climb from a carpark near the Dolina restaurant in the Kokořín valley. This romantic castle, which has charmed many Czech poets, was built in the 1^st half of the 14^th century. The dominant feature of the castle is a 38-meter high round tower, utilised as a view point.

In the surroundings of Kokořín, one can find other interesting places, such as the town of Mělník. This ancient town became famous mainly due to grapevine cultivation and there is a vintage ceremony held each year. In the town is a manor, which is an impressive dominant feature which can be seen from afar, together with the tower of Saint Peter & Paul’s Temple. Visitors to Mělník are attracted by the view from the manor view point, from where they can see the conflux of the Labe and Vltava rivers, the monumental Říp Mountain and the Bohemian Central Highlands.

Let us move from the region of Kokořín to the south-west towards the manors of Veltrusy and Nelahozeves.

Veltrusy offers a walk across a large park, which is one of the best preserved English parks in Europe. The park includes a fallow-deer field with one hundred-year-old oak trees. The Veltrusy manor was built in the 1^st half of the 18^th century on an equilateral cross shaped ground plan. The interior is furnished with historical pieces and remarkable art collections.

In 1992, the Nelahozeves renaissance manor was returned to its original owners, the Lobkowitz family, where one can find the largest private art collection in Bohemia, which, among others, includes paintings by Rubens, Cranach and Verones. In the village of Nelahozeves there is a memorial of the world-famous harmonist Antonín Dvořák, who was born in family house no. 12.

On our way further towards the southwest, we can stop by the romantic village of Okoř, the dominant feature is a ruin of a castle of same name. During the summer months many cultural events take place, for example every year a rock and folk festival is organized. From Okoř, it is only few kilometers to get to Kladno, an industrial town with significant tradition of black coal mining and iron production. The mining history is documented by an open-air mining museum, the Mayrau Mine, Vinarice. In addition, Kladno is the birth place of the famous Czech hockey player - Jaromír Jágr, and where he started his successful career. 

Five kilometers from Kladno, is the worldwide renowned village of Lidice.  During World War II, German Nazis razed the village to the ground because of alleged cooperation of some of the local villagers with paratroopers, who made an attempt on R. Heydrich. The Germans shot all 173 male villagers, deported the women to concentration camps and put the children in German families for re-education or killed them in gas chambers. After 1945, Lidice was rebuilt and the original site area has been commemorated. Close by, the Lidice Museum  was built.

Another interesting and attractive destination in the Kladno region is the Červený Újezd castle. It is not a typical castle but an interesting entrepreneurial work – a historical building built between 2001 and 2002, with an aim to introduce the tourists and visitors to the Czech Republic Bohemian countryside of the previous two centuries in quite an untraditional manner. Visitors can admire a museum exhibition and an open-air museum.

Another jewel of the region of Central Bohemia is the region of Křivoklát. Křivoklát is one of the most famous Bohemian castles. It was built in the first half of the 13^th century and its dominant features are a 12-metre high large cylindrical tower and the Prismatic Tower. One can visit a jail and torture chambers, and the little town Křivoklát itself.  On days when the castle is open for the public, one can visit a herbal tearoom, a candle shop, an armoury shop, a wood-carving shop and the Nakřivo gallery. 

In Central Bohemia one can find the largest area of karst topography of the Czech Republic. However, only the Koněpruské Caves are open for the public. The 800-meter long sightseeing circle leads through the most interesting sections of the upper and medium floor, through large cathedrals; Předsíň (Hall), Pustý (Deserted) and Vysoká kaple (High Chapel). The caves are rich in stalactites, with the unique “konepruske roses” – where calcium carbonate has been dissolved by water and the shrunken walls have formed bushes. The branches have fallen off and only the rose florets remain on the walls. A similar site cannot be found anywhere else.

Northward, not far from the Koněpruské Caves, one can find one of the most picturesque places in Bohemia, a pilgrimage site named Svatý Jan pod Skalou (St. John under the rock). Here, one can visit a monastic church, interconnected with travertine caves (travertine is light, often porous calcareous sediment). It is said that St. Ivan, the first Bohemian hermit, mentioned in the first ever written source-books, used to live in these caves.

The beautiful Karlštejn castle , undoubtedly the most famous and most significant castle in Bohemia, looks like it has come straight out a fairy tale. The founder of it, the Bohemian King, Saint and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles IV saved the imperial crown jewels here, as well as with the remains of saints, and used the castle as a place of rest and meditation. Karlštejn has become even more famous for golf enthusiasts.

One can enjoy other water sport activities at one of the biggest Czech water reservoirs, the Slapský Dam. A lake flooded the original valley of the Vltava River, and later tens of recreation camps developed at its banks. The lake is 44 km long and its maximum depth is 58 meters. Besides swimming or fishing one can participate in a summer yachting course, or enjoy a trip on a steamboat.

Not far from the town of Benesov, is another romantic manor named Konopiště . Despite many reconstructions, the manor, with its seven towers, preserved the appearance of an Early-Gothic castle. There are social lounges in its interiors and rich art collections. 

Eastwards from Konopiště one can find the medieval castle Český Šternberk, which was founded around 1241. The interior of the castle is richly decorated with collections from the Sternberk family, among others, a collection of more than 500 copperplates dating back to the Thirty Years War . Also worth visiting is the near-by Sázavský Monastery .

However, a place not to be missed in our meander across the Central Bohemian region is Kutná Hora . During medieval times, it was the largest and most important town after Prague, famous for its silver extraction and processing and one of the Bohemian towns recorded in the UNESCO List of Monuments. The town conservation reserve houses a set of medieval and baroque architecture with over three hundred protected structures. From the large number of preserved monuments, we should mention some examples. 

The Cathedral of St. Barbara  is the most dominant feature of Kutná Hora; after St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, this temple, dedicated to the benefactress of coal-miners, is probably the second most prominent church in Bohemia. Its construction took a fairly long time; it was started in 1388 and was completed during the Late-Gothic period at the end of the 15^th and the beginning of the 16^th century. The interior offer preserved Late-Gothic sculptures and masonry decoration.

The Jesuitical college provides a picturesque panorama of the town. It is an Early Baroque structure, dating back to 1626-27. In front of the college, is a gallery with Baroque sculptures dating back to 1703-1716. Vlašský Yard was built around 1300, originally as a complex of buildings of a mint; from the 15^th century it served as a seat of the monarch. In Kamenný dům, one of the most beautiful burgess houses in Kutná Hora, is a museum exhibition of hand crafts.

From Kutná Hora, interwoven with history, we move to the spa town Poděbrady , the seat of the world renowned Bohemia Glassworks. The town is first mentioned in the middle of the 12^th century, and in 1905, works on construction of a spa were commenced; and since 1926, specializes in the treatment of cardiac and vascular diseases. The main curing source is a mineral water called Poděbradka.

However, the spa town offers its visitors much more than just pleasant and healthy therapies, and walks on the colonnade, since there are plenty of opportunities to participate in sports. There is a golf course, riding hall, mini-golf, tennis and squash, swimming in an indoor pool, fitness and also cycle paths. Recently, the town of Podebrady has been expanding rapidly in the area of providing services for corporate events. Upon request, one can organize a conference or a congress, including associated supplementary services.

Tags: Central Bohemia, Červený Újezd, Karlštejn castle, Koněpruské Caves, Konopiště, Křivoklát, Kutná Hora, Lidice Museum, Nelahozeves, Poděbrady, Sázavský Monastery, The Cathedral of St. Barbara