The border region with its dense forests was already inhabited in the 14th and 15th centuries. Jiří Schleinitz, the former owner the Tolštejn estate, built a mining town here called Jiřetín pod Jedlovou. During the tour of the tunnel/gallery of St. John the Evangelist you may experience the unforgettable atmosphere of medieval times when ore mining was common. The tunnel/gallery in the former silver ore mine dates back to 1781. From its original length of 640 m, 360 m are accessible today. The excursion into ancient history is further enhanced by unique folk architecture of two-storey houses decorated with stone portals and the Church of the Holy Trinity with a Baroque rectory in Jiřetín pod Jedlovou. A museum was established in the former rectory building, where you will learn more about the history of mining and about the history of Tolštejn Castle. If you want to participate in the game called "Roaming around the Tolštejn estates", do not forget to get your roaming passport, map of the Tolštejn estates as well as other accessories in the information centre, which will come handy when you are searching for kreutzers (medieval coins) and for the ghost of Vilda the Robber. We are now ready to face our adventure, so we start directly at the square and follow the green sign. Immediately after the start we have to climb up a steep hill towards Cross Mountain.. Cross Mountain is dominated by the Chapel of the Crucifixion with a high tower, from where the mountain got its new name and became a popular tourist/pilgrimage site. The hill terrace, formerly known as Holá lada, was already known during medieval times thanks to the discovery of iron ore (the remnants of iron ore mines are currently inaccessible). Our climb towards the Way of the Cross will be a bit easier thanks to 11 niche chapels with stone reliefs built in Rococo style. After we reach the top, we will be rewarded with beautiful views of Jiřetín pod Jedlovou. After we pass Cross Mountain, we continue to follow the green sign over a meadow while enjoying the emerging views of magnificent ruins of Tolštejn Castle and the peak of Jedlová with viewing tower on top. The crossroad sign Near the Ski Slope is the place where we have to decide whether to conquer the top of Jedlová or to go straight around a wooden ranch and take the shortest path to the castle. The strongest tourists follow the red sign directly to the top and must tackle almost three times the elevation when compared with the climb to the top of Cross Mountain. A restaurant on the top of Jedlová (774 m), the third highest mountain in the Lužické Mountains, was reconstructed between 1987 and 1992 and is now open to the public. We may also enjoy views from the 23 m high reconstructed stone tower, built in 1891. If the weather is good, the tower offers distant panoramic views of the landscape. You may see for example Bezděz, Ralsko, Ještěd, Luž, Milešovka, the peaks of Elbe Sandstones with Děčínský Sněžník and many other sights. According to historical data, Emperor Joseph II - the enlightened successor to the throne of Maria Theresa, visited the top of Jedlová in 1779. Between the pub and the viewing tower we may notice a statue of Friedrich Schiller with boulders brought here from 19 surrounding towns and villages. From the peak we take a quick downhill walk on a paved forest road until we reach the crossroad calledBy the Ranch. Tourists who decided to go around Jedlová and follow the green sign will come to the same place. We shall now continue to follow the red sign for 1 km towards the turn to Tolštejn Castle. The huge ruins of Tolštejn Castle date back to the early half of the 13th century when the castle was built to protect the so-called Prague Road connecting Bohemia with Lužnice. During the Thirty Years War the castle was besieged and set on fire by flaming arrows shot by Swedish troops. The completely burned down castle was never fully reconstructed and many robbers and roaming knights found refuge here. Thanks to this historical fact, many great stories, rumours and legends describing treasures hidden in the ruins of the castle were created. During the Romanticist period, interest in the dilapidated castle increased again and in 1866 a castle restaurant was built here. In addition to comfortable seating right in the middle of the castle grounds you may book a room here and stay overnight. Our restless and eager kids will certainly climb the iron stairs and then run across the footbridge going towards the top rocks, where the flag of the Tolštejn Estate is proudly presented. But we all enjoy the wonderful view from here. The peak of Jedlova is right at our fingertips. From Tolštejn Castle we are going back to a road which will take us through the village of Rozhled (View) back to Jiřetín pod Jedlovou. On our way back we should not forget to make a few stops which are marked with the flag of theTolštejn Estate, where you can have your roaming passport stamped with the "original roaming" stamp or you may purchase glass medieval coins.
Total length 7 km (+ 2.5 km if you climbed up to the top of Jedlová).
