This journey across the Ore Mountains is part of the sixth seminar of our Itinerant University of Nature "Becoming Native or Searching for Home" (Nové Hamry 2.-8.6. 2021). I was inspired to create its route by the proposal of the first ever transitional hiking trail through the Ore Mountains ("Krušnohorský kwérunk"), created by the wanderer Markéta Dobešová. The path offers an opportunity to get acquainted with the unique nature of the Ore Mountains, but also with the eventful history of the Czech border region, which reflects our dramatic history. Our journey goes beyond the borders of the Ore Mountains and leads through the Tiské stěny and Děčínský Sněžník to Děčín. You can join us anywhere and go with us for as long as you want. Everyone is responsible for themselves. We sleep outside under the open sky. Bring a sleeping bag and sleeping mat, or possibly a tarpaulin or tent. — (JZ)

Greetings to the Lord, you Ore Mountains,
My songs sound again in my mind;
Deep in the forests, in mysterious pools,
The meadows around are full of beauty.
Greetings, God, my Ore Mountains,
Greetings, God, where I gladly return,
The forests rustle and speak mysteriously,
The stream is bubbling, the waterfall is sounding.

Anton Gunther

First day on Sunday, August 8th (17 km)

Nové Hamry / Horní Blatná / Mauritius / Slatyny: We will set off on our hike from Nové Hamry from Hotel Seifert at 12 noon. We will follow the yellow and then the green tourist trail under Fox Mountain up to Horni Blatne. From here we go Along the Anton Günther Trail –the famous German Ore Mountains singer-songwriter, poet and lover of the Ore Mountains – on Wolf Pits and Ice pits, which are significant remains of tin mining in the Ore Mountains, and further on Blatensky Hill (1043 m) with a lookout tower. We will continue along the Günther trail and visit The red pit, the largest ever depression after mining activities in our country, Stallion and mine Mauritiuss, registered on the list of national cultural monuments, and we will reach Slatiné, To the dead pond, which was built in the 16th century for mining purposes. We will spend the night here.

The second day, Monday, August 9 (26 km)

Dead Pond / Boží Dar / Klínovec / Horní Halže: From Dead pond withIn the morning we will set off along Güntherova Street Božidar peat bogs, one of the most valuable natural sites of the Ore Mountains, to To the Božídarský canine (1115 m), the second highest mountain in the Ore Mountains and the highest basalt pile in the Czech Republic, and we will reach God's gift. Boží dar was originally a mining settlement and is the highest town in our country. The aforementioned singer-songwriter Anton Günther (1876-1937) was born here - we will visit his monument and his birthplace. From Boží dar we will ascend to Klinovec (1244 m), the highest mountain in the Ore Mountains, and from there we will follow the red trail across Meadow at the crossroads below Melusine (1097 m) and then below The Mountain of Crosses (1025 m) to the Měděnecká road; along it we reach Upper Halzewhere we spend the night near the forest.

Third day on Tuesday, August 10 (24 km)

Horní Halže / Mědník / Přísečnice / Jelení Hora, St. Sebastian's Mountain: FROM Upper Halze we are going to Vermilion (once important for copper mining, but also iron and silver) and to a beautiful hill Coppersmith (900 m) with chapel The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. We will visit here the promised land tunnel, significant mining work. We will continue along the red trail to the largest dam in the Ore Mountains Intersections, which was created on the site of a former mining village; from there, at the crossroads with Výsluňská cesta and following the yellow path to the summit Deer Mountains (994 m), from where there is one of the most beautiful views of the Ore Mountains; the basalt massif of the mountain is covered with beech forests. From here we will head to the nature reserve Source of Chomutovka and after Elm Road over Glass Hill (878 m) to Mount Saint SebastianWe spend the night on its edge or in a cave near Chomutovka in the Bezruč Valley.

Day Four Wednesday, August 11 (26 km)

St. Sebastian's Mountain / Bear Waterfalls / Novodomské Peatland / Kalek / St. Catherine's Mountain: In the morning we will go to Bezruč's Valley and along the Chomutovka river to Bear Falls;Bezruč Valley is one of the longest and most beautiful valleys in the Ore Mountains. From Medvědí waterfalls we will go to Hadinec (815 m) and along the red marked path along Novodomské peat bogs, the largest bogs of the Ore Mountains, to To the new one and To the old pond; from the Old Pond we follow the yellow path to the village Calc (with the beautiful church of St. Wenceslas), where iron ore was previously processed. From Kalk then on Volárenská road to Telč Valley and from there along the Gabrielka nature trail over Rudolicy Pond and the settlement Small grove up to Saint Catherine's Mountains. Here we ascend to Pink Hill (729 m) with the Hláska lookout tower, under which we spend the night.

"I have traveled through various regions,
people are different there,
but I always came back,
A home that will delight the heart.

I wouldn't trade places with any king.
the hillside where the father has a house,
friendly where the forests rustle
and the heather blooms red.

Anton Gunther

Day Five Thursday, August 12 (23 km)

St. Catherine's Mountain / Mníšek / Bradáčov – Lichtenwald Chateau / Český Jiřetín: From Mount St. Catherine we will set off along the Flájská hornatina nature trail. New Village and Nun, where the border crossing to Germany is. From there we will continue along the same nature trail to Loučenská hornatina nature park to Black Pond Nature Reserve and further over the hills Colorful (875 m) and Deer head (874 m). For By the trout stream then we turn right onto the path that leads vertically up to the top Bradacov (876 m), where there is an interesting hunting ground Lichtenwald Castle from the 18th century, which included a hunting reserve. On the wooded slopes of the hill we can observe the stages of forest regeneration after the ecological disaster. From Bradáčov we descend to Český Jiřetín, founded in the 16th century by woodcutters who made their living by floating wood on the Fláje Canal. We will visit the wooden church of St. John the Baptist, the only all-wooden church in our country, which originally stood in the village of Fláje, now flooded by the Fláje Reservoir (the only pillar dam in the Czech Republic). We will spend the night in the forest by the Fláje Canal.

Day Six Friday, August 13 (26 km)

Český Jiřetín / Moldava / Cínovec / Komáří Vížka: From Český Jiřetín we will take the red route through Upper villagewhere we turn onto the yellow one and continue past the retention tank Three spruces until the crossroads Beggar's Corner; The place is a memorial to a defunct village, founded in the 16th century for the purpose of paying wages to raftsmen transporting wood along the Flaj Canal. From here we will continue to the site of a defunct shepherd's village Pastures and on to Moldovans with the beautiful Baroque Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. In the past, silver was mined in Moldava and there are remains of medieval glassworks here. This landscape has an amazing charm. We continue along the yellow path to the upper part of the village and from there, at the crossroads under By the glass streamwhere we turn red and go around Cínovecký peat bog up to Tinplate; Tin, silver and tungsten have been mined here since the Middle Ages. From Cínovec we will continue along the border educational mining trail, which will take us to The Transylvanian Way and on The Sedmihorská viewpoint and we will end our journey at Mosquito bites (808 m) with a lookout tower Mosquito net, which is the oldest lookout tower in the Ore Mountains. Komáří hůrka is interesting for its steep elevation above the surrounding terrain, which is why there is a unique view of the Teplice region, the Ústí nad Labem region and the Bohemian Central Mountains, which was admired by the famous German traveler Alexander von Humboldt and the famous German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe. We spend the night under Komáří hůrka.

"Beauty is the manifestation of secret natural laws that would otherwise remain forever hidden from us."

Johann Wolfgang Goethe

"Sometimes I go fast, sometimes slower, ...
I'm going, even though I can't say why.
Somewhere behind me, a hurricane is sweeping away islands with all living things.
I am convinced that if I put my foot down
in front of my foot and transferring my weight to it, I take a step.
I have also found my voice, so I will sing mine.”

Emil Juliš, Steps

Day Seven Saturday, August 14 (25 km)

Mosquito Tower / Nakléřovská Height / Libouchec / Tiské Walls / Island: From Komáří Vížky we follow the red trail to Habarticwhere it begins Eastern Ore Mountains Nature ParkFrom here we will go through the nature reserve Black meadow with the remains of wet to peaty mountain meadows, which form a rare ecosystem, and further below Ore Hill (796 m) up to Adolf's. From here we take the yellow path to the crossroads below Deer Hill and on the cycle path that will lead us to Naklerov to Nakléřovské Pass; This significant depression is an important place, because this is where the Ore Mountains end. In history, an important country trail ran here. From Nakléřov we will continue along the blue trail across the D8 highway to Upper Libouchec, where after about 2.5km we turn left on an unmarked path and walk along the edge of the forest and the hill In the Pastures, where the military training area is located, up to New Libouchec; here we enter the Labské pískovce Protected Landscape Area and reach the Quietly. We will go through The Great Tisza Walls and we will end the journey in Island at Ostrovsky Pond, surrounded by rocks, where we spend the night.

Day 8 on Sunday, August 15 (17 km)

Ostrovsky Pond / Děčínsky Sněžník / Děčín: From Ostrovský Pond in the morning we will set off along the red educational trail of the Forgotten Borderlands to Snowman and from there to the top Děčínsky Sněžník (723 m), the highest mountain of the Elbe Sandstones. We will walk through the entire plateau of this amazing table mountain and look at the old stone lookout tower and Dresden viewpointFrom Děčínský Sněžník we descend along the red trail through New village, Dolni Oldrichov and Shepherd's wall up to Decinafrom where we will return to Prague by train.

Train connections on August 15 from Děčín to Prague

• departure R 6845 Labe / Děčín main station 13:22 – arrival Prague main station 15:11
• departure EC 379 Berliner R / Děčín main station 14:02 – arrival Prague main station 15:36

Contacts

George Zemanek

sarvanga@centrum.cz
777 117 466

Tomas Hruza

tomashruza@gmail.com
775 052 607

Karel Ctveracek

ctv@seznam.cz
603 355 072

Barbora Kinkalova

b.kinkalova@seznam.cz
776 123 969

"I believe that a lot of good would come from a change in attitude if tourists became pilgrims again."

Rupert Sheldrake