Ralsko

The striking basalt mountain Ralsko with the extensive ruins of the castle at the top, from where there is a beautiful circular view.

Site Description

A wild and far visible hill, overgrown with trees and shrubs at the height of 696 meters. From the rocky peak, a huge rubble is pouring in and above it you can see the ruins of Ralsko. The steepness of the ascent suggests how important the castle was, from the ruins of which you can see half of northern Bohemia. What was it like to get up and lie down with the world under your feet? In the morning with the first rays of the sun, in the evening with the last? The fact that many hikers still try it today is evidenced by several fireplaces among the remains of the walls. In addition to them, the castle has preserved a dilapidated entrance gate and tower, accessible by a small wooden door. On the dark stone are still legible inscriptions in Cyrillic from the time when Ralsko was part of the military area. This is also our (fortunately already) history…

From the aerial rock lookout at the end of the top ridge there is a beautiful view not only of the surroundings, but mainly from the distance to the ruins of the Ralsko castle.

Data

Locality

Česko

Terrain difficulty

3 / 5

Time required

2 hours.

Elevation difference

378 m

What will you see here?

Ralsko zřícenina

1

Remains of a castle mentioned at the end of the 14th century

Ralsko - rozhled

2

Incredible view

Zřícenina hradu Ralsko

3

Inscriptions in Cyrillic - a memorial to Soviet soldiers

Do you know that...

There used to be a stone quarry on the southwestern slope of Ralsko, which was accessible by a separate road behind Pavlínin dvůr, called Schotterweg, or stone road. The road has been preserved to this day. In the early 1920s an overland cableway was established from this quarry, which ceased to exist with its closure in November 1947. The remains of the lower station can still be seen today on the way to Julie’s Lookout from Vranov.

For Curious Minds

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How to Reach Us

On foot from the village of Vranov or Noviny pod Ralskem, the village is connected by a red tourist sign with a turn to the top. You can leave your car in both villages, both of which are also accessible by bus. The Džbán rock tower rises above the village of Vranov and along the way you can visit a small rock town and Julia’s viewpoint with a beautiful view of the landscape. In the end, it is necessary to overcome a relatively steep ascent with an elevation gain of up to 400 m to the ruins of the castle Ralsko. The length of the route is 2.8 km. If you go from Noviny pod Ralskem, you can visit the unique Ploučnice Gorge.

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