Bicycle tours through abandoned villages (Ralsko, CZ)

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Popis zážitku

Geopark Ralsko contains villages in which people lived for seven centuries – before being forced to leave soon after the second world war. Remnants of houses, ponds, churches and gardens are quickly disappearing, but we can still imagine the life led by village inhabitants in the area that was cleared out several times.

The experience of a vast space, which is today a refuge for bison and only barely visible traces of man

The past century brought dramatic consequences for both the Czech and German citizens who lived and worked in this area. During World War II, the German military built the famous airport near Hradčany. After the war, Germans living in the villages around Ralsko were expelled in an act of “revenge“. However, the Czech inhabitants were also soon to be deprived of the right to remain. The Czechoslovak and later the Soviet armies were interested by the area, establishing a large military training area here in 1947, thereby sealing the fate of over twenty villages.

Údaje

Lokalita

Česko

Obtížnost terénu

3 / 5

Časová náročnost

10 hod.

Otevřít na Mapy.cz
zaniklých obcí
0
kilometers of bike paths
0
bike trips
0
A detailed description of the cycle routes can be found on the website of the Ralsko Geopark
www.visitralsko.com/na-kole/
Searching for the lost

It remains evident that this place used to be someone‘s beloved home. The pastures and fields may be overgrown with trees, but little roads and streams indicate the outline of the former villages. Discovering these villages on a bicycle tour is a great idea. Walking through the deserted former village of Svébořice, the most significant in the area a century ago, would be exhausting, , but on a bike, you can effortlessly absorb it in all its detail. Over six hundred inhabitants once lived in 141 houses in Svébořice. They had their own church, school, bakery, butcher and even a jail! Try to search for remnants of walls and cellars of long-gone houses.

Carved cellars in extinct villages
Views towards Ralsko, Ještěd and Bezděz
Bike paths suitable for the whole family
Mysterious atmosphere of a deserted landscape
The Židlov game reserve serves to save the European bison

Víte že...

The Ralsko military training area operated in the years 1947 – 1991. During this period, 20 municipalities, including churches and cemeteries, disappeared irretrievably, while buildings serving military purposes were built. The territory was closed to the outside world, and the places that the troops left fallow were taken back by nature. Today, only old fruit trees, cellars or wells remain in the villages.

Praktické informace

On the geopark‘s website at www.visitralsko.com you will find a description of the bicycle trails and information about abandoned villages. The two parts of the Cycling Guide to the Abandoned Villages of Ralsko (Cykloprůvodce po zaniklých obcích Ralska) provide inspiration and a detailed description of the cycling routes (https://www.visitralsko.com/na-kole/ ). They are available at information centres or via the geopark‘s e-shop. The cycling guides also contain an original map of the abandoned villages with recommended bicycle routes. These routes are not signposted, but each abandoned village is marked with an information board featuring a map and QR code.

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About project

Geotourism enables a very active exploration of the landscape and its geological uniqueness, such as rock towns, historic mining works or fossils – a fossilised testimony to life millions of years ago.

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Lead project partner

Geopark Ralsko o.p.s.
Mírová 121, Mimoň, 471 24, CZ
tel: +420 739 354 701
programy@geoparkralsko.cz
www.visitralsko.com