Stohánek

This tall solitary rock in the middle of the woods was used in the 15th century, when the the nobility had a wooden castle built on it. There is also a stone staircase here that sinks into the rock, the end of which cannot be seen from the foot of the rock. It is evident that the worn stairs have been around for a while. They have probably also seen the hermits that settled here around 1740. Readers of the work of Karolina Světlá know one from the short story “Poslední poustevnice” (The Last Hermit), and others can at least look into the room carved into the rock at the top and the niches along the Stations of the Cross. Terraces provide evidence of gardens of the former inhabitants.

You might think that you could live here as a hermit as well: the views from the top are fantastic, with Hamerský Špičák and Děvín within arm’s reach, the monumental Ralsko rising a short distance away, and Bezděz and Ještěd at the very back. You’re in the middle of everything. At eye level across the valley is a straight row of sandstone rocks with a cap of pine trees, resembling a wall. This is Dlouhý kámen, also called Titanic – they are said to have the same size.