We recommend starting this trip in the village ofVelké Březno. We should definitely not miss the Neo-Renaissance New Chateau Castle, standing in the middle of the English park with a rich collection of domestic and foreign trees. It is one of the youngest castles built in the Czech Republic. The tour offers the visit of numerous stylishly furnished rooms arranged in a certain way, so that visitors are not separated from the exhibits. The castle garden is literally overflowing with greenery, trees and many benches enticing and tempting you to sit down and relax. Today, the village is mostly known for its brewery which was established in the 16th century. On the banks of the Elbe River, we may notice lines of machine gun posts. Tourist signs begin near the Velké Březno – Railway Station crossroad. We will now start following the green signs, cross over the railway track and begin to climb slightly uphill towards the woods. Once in the woods we begin to climb very steeply until we reach the Fráž (474 m) crossroad with a turn leading to an educational trail – a Circle around Magnetovec and Rocky mushroom. We have been walking for about 4.5 kilometres now but still following the green tourist signs.
However, to get to Magnetovec, we have to take another long and steep uphill climb for about 1 km on a forest path. The top rock ofMagnetovec (521 m) is in the middle of a mixed deciduous forest. From the peak we walk shortly across the mountain ridge, sometimes moving down and following the edge of a steep forested slope with frequent cliffs and rubble, until we reach the natural Magnetovec – rocky mushroom monument. The natural protection zone includes a line of rocky formations equipped with distinctive 8 m tall basanite rocky mushrooms – the remnants of a lava cap consisting of two lava outpourings. We may walk around Magnetovec. From the Fráž crossroad we climb uphill to reach Sokolí hřeben (Falcon crest) (592 m) and then continue all the way to a crossroad called Pláň. Through the trees we may sometimes catch a view of Buková hora (Beech Mountain) with an eye-catching transmitter on top. From Pláň we follow the red signs down to the village of Líškov. Above the village we will join the road where, after a while, a beautiful view of the picturesque Zubrnice with Beech Mountain in the background opens in front of us. Upon entering the village we visit a small railway museum documenting the history of the local railway Velké Březno – Verneřice – Úštěk and take a look at an authentic railway office, trolleys, toilets, railway vehicles and private railway premises (closed on Mondays). On the other side, opposite the square in Zubrnicewe may see the Church of St. Mary Magdalena and the Museum of Architecture (open air museum of the Czech Central Mountains). Here we may take a look at well-preserved exhibits and displays of folk architecture, which were brought here from other villages, From Zubrnice we take a trip to Buková hora (Beech Mountain). At the beginning we climb sharply uphill but after about 1 km the climb becomes more relaxed. The forest is repeatedly replaced with meadows and meadows with forest, and we begin to see the approaching mountain with the transmitter on the top. From the former Stará Homole, we must undergo a very steep climb to the top of the mountain with the transmitter, which is inaccessible to the general public. From the Buková hora (Beech Mountain) (683 m) crossroad we may take a small path and "pop out" at the top to take a look at the Humboldt viewing post, where we may enjoy charming views of the western part of the Czech Central Mountains. Towards the east we will find a hilly plateau with grazing cattle. From the top we take an asphalt road down to the Beech Mountain crossroad, where we turn left and start following the blue signs while continuously walking down through the woods, until we reach the Vitín – rozvaliny (Vitín – ruins/rubble) crossroad. Here we may see the ruins and rubble of dozens of former village houses completely devoured by nature. Please note that the signs do not follow the forest gravel road, but go along a small path covered with nettles and between trees and the remains of one of the former houses. We recommend taking the field road over the meadow which partially overlooks the ruins and Beech Mountain. Keep to the left from the trees as our signs go around them. When on the top of the barren hill we will pick up a sign after about 150 m, which almost identically copies the direction of the electric power lines. After we successfully cross over the meadow, we take a steep descent through the forest towards road No. 261. A road which goes around the Elbe River, lined with many rocks on its opposite bank, will take us through Malé Březnoall the way back to our starting point. We may shorten our trip a little bit if we ride the train to our next stop. Total length 26 km.
