“We are not here to control and dominate the world. We are here to become an integral part of the greater community of Earth.”

Thomas Berry

The Bohemian Central Mountains and the adjacent Podkrušnohorská Basin and the Ore Mountains, a unique landscape admired by many great artists (Goethe, Friedrich, Mácha), are one of our most industrially exploited areas; it is here that the most severe environmental impacts have occurred. On our journey, we will walk through the landscape of the beautiful basalt peaks of the Bohemian Central Mountains, today insensitively attacked by the D8 motorway, and beyond the beautiful Bořeň hill we will then dive into the landscape of open-pit coal mines and dumps of the Podkrušnohorská Basin. However, it seems that the era of drastic exploitation of this region by mining, associated with the liquidation of almost 80 municipalities, is approaching its end and that this beautiful corner of the country is finally starting to breathe freely into new life. This is particularly evident in the activities of the town of Horní Jiřetín, which has decided to get rid of its dependence on dirty coal mining and switch to renewable energy sources, thus becoming an energy-self-sufficient municipality. We want to support this great plan of the Horní Jiřetín family and contribute financially to their pilot project to equip the local elementary and kindergarten schools with photovoltaic panels so that the school can generate its own electricity. In Horní Jiřetín, we will announce our financial donation and participate in the Klimakemp, organized by the Limity jsme my association: www.limityjsmemy.czWe would be happy if you would support us in this endeavor, either by direct participation in the journey or by a financial donation. Please send your contribution to the account: 290 101 3262/ 2010 and indicate on it: "Škola Hor. Jiřetín". The amount we collect will be donated to the Pilgrim Elementary and Kindergarten School in Horní Jiřetín on behalf of our association. Thank you for your support! 

“The way we walk on the earth has a huge impact on animals and plants. The future of all life, including our own, depends on our mindful steps…”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Thursday 22 June: Lovosice – Košťálov – Hradišťany – Mirošovice (30 km)

We will meet at 6:30 in Prague at Masaryk Station, from where we will take the train to Lovosice at 6:53. From Lovosic we will follow the blue mark to Vchynic and further along the green under the hills Sheepfold and Lakeand to Košťál hill (481 m above sea level) with the ruins of the castle Košťálov from the first half of the 14th century. From Košťálov we will continue along the red road to Sutomy under Sutomský hill and further to Skalka and Děkovka and from there follow the blue trail to the ruins Hradek (Altarpiece – 566 m above sea level). We will enjoy the views of the three peaks Solan Mountain (638 m above sea level), Long hill (618 m above sea level) and Cane (601 m above sea level) and we will continue on the red road to Lhota under one of the most beautiful mountains of the Bohemian Central Mountains Lipská hora (689 m above sea level).; we will visit the local nature reserve. We will then follow the yellow and red trails through Hradišťanská meadow to the second highest peak of the Bohemian Central Mountains, Mount Hora. Hradištany (752 m above sea level), where the Knovíz culture hillfort was located (1,200 BC). We will see the acropolis of the original hillfort with stone walls and the Hradišťany meadow. From Hradišťany we will continue along the red and green trails under the Kozí hřbet and the hill Keen (719 m above sea level) up to Merunice and from there to Fortress and Mirošovice, where under Rabbit Hill We'll sleep over.    

Friday 23 June: Mirošovice – Bořeň – Braňany – Mariánské Radčice and former Libkovice – Horní Jiřetín (33 km)

The next day we will set off from Mirošovice through the village of Chouč to the famous hill Boren (539 m above sea level), the largest surface feldspar formation in Central Europe, which was admired by the great German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe and the German romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich; we will walk along the nature trail through the local national nature reserve to the top. From Bořeně we will follow the green trail to Kyselka Spa near Bílina and from there follow the red road to the top Kankov (436 m above sea level) and further up to Brno, which are located on the edge of the Bílina quarry, where the Czech government broke the limits on coal mining in 2015 and where mining is still taking place today. From here we will continue to the former pilgrimage site, the village Mariánské Radcice, seriously threatened by coal mining ten years ago, and we will also visit a displaced village Libkovice, liquidated in 1990-1993 by the Hlubina Mines company; we will continue past the former Kohinoor and Pluto quarries to Quarry near Most and Meadows near LitvínovFrom here we will head through the dump area to Dolní Litvínov and further through the landscape of the Horní Jiřetínská výsypka with many lakes and ponds, where natural succession and local planting create a new wild landscape, to Horní Jiřetín. Here we will join the community of people participating in the "Klimakemp", organized by the association We are the limits and Greenpeace. We spend the night in Horní Jiřetín at the Klimakemp camp.   

"If we succeeded in extracting and burning all fossil fuels, some parts of the world would become completely uninhabitable."

James Hansen, world's leading climatologist, NASA

 "It is up to us whether we allow our planet and health to be destroyed, or whether we will strive with determination for a sustainable future."

From the statement of the association LIMITS WE ARE

Saturday 24. 6. – Sunday 25. 6.: Horní Jiřetín – ruins of Alberk castle – Jezeří chateau (15 km)

The next day, Saturday, we will announce to the Jiřetín people our contribution to equip their elementary and kindergarten schools with photovoltaic panels and we will learn about the events at the Klimakemp, organized by the Limity jsme my association; we share their opinion that the continued mining and burning of coal today not only threaten the homes and health of North Bohemians, but are one of the main causes of climate change, with all its devastating consequences. The rapidly deteriorating climate represents the most serious threat to global security today and will affect people on all continents, including Europe. However, we can all do something to improve this situation if we realize that “we are the limits”. The end of the coal age and the transition to renewable energy are the first and basic prerequisites for this. In the afternoon, we will set off along the blue trail along the slope of the Krušné hory to the village of Černice and from there through the forest to the ruins of Alberk Castle, to the Albrecht tunnel and finally to Jezeří Castle. We will see the castle and the adjacent arboretum, which is a remnant of a former English park, a large part of which had to give way to a brown coal mine. We will return to Horní Jiřetín, spend the night in the Klimakemp camp and the next day, Sunday, June 25, we will return to Prague by bus.

Connections

Prague – Lovosice / Thursday, June 22:TRAIN from the main train station in Prague:departure from Prague in 6:53– arrival to Lovosic 7:56

Horní Jiřetín – Prague / Sunday, June 25: BUS Horní Jiřetín, junction O. departure 9:41 – Litvínov arr. 9:55, dep. 10:00Most, 1. nám. arr. 10:27. dep. 10:30 – Praha Florenc, arr. 12:10 Horní Jiřetín, rozc.O.2 dep. 11:41 – Litvínov, arrival 11:55, departure 12:00 Most, 1. nám. arrival 12:27. departure 12:30 – Prague Florenc, arrival 14:10 Horní Jiřetín, rozc.O.2 departure 13:41 – Litvínov, arrival 13:55, departure 14:05 Prague Florenc, arrival 15:50

Contact and further information

Jiří Zemánek, email: sarvanga@centrum.cz, mobile: 777 117 466 Tomáš Hrůza, email: tomashruza@gmail.com, mobile: 775 052 607 Karel Čtveráček: ctv@seznam.cz, 603 355 072

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

Rupert Sheldrake