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The Harcuba waggoner trackTracking local architecture[47km/708m; Trek]
If you can do without the long and arduous ascents leading up to the ridges of the Krkonose Mountains, our wonderful trekking tour through their foothills is for you.
Wood was always the most important material in the Krkonose Mountains. Until the 20th century nearly every building - be it up in the mountains or in the foothill villages - was made of wood. In the 18th and 19th century even the towns in the foothills were built of wood mostly until - after several blazes - the use of bricks and stones became more common.
The waggoner Haruba started his tour to the marketplaces in Nova Paka and Jicin at the mountainsides of the Zaly where weavers and lumberjacks dwelled in simple blockhouses. He would travel on to Jilemnice, passing through the "Zvědavá ulička" (the curious alley), where still today you can see a group of "Isera"-type houses. He went on to Mricna with its blockhouses and their attached barns. If he did travel through Kruh he must have felt a touch of envy facing the huge homesteads with arcades and curb roofs.
Back then the horses were sweating when they climbed the ascent from Roztok to Karlov - just like today's bikers do. While Harcuba was heading south to Nova Paka, we turn east at the picturesque houses of Karlov, and further on pass Zdar and Studenec to eventually reach Bukovina and Dolni Kalna. Many "Isera"-type houses are still standing in these villages. At the old St. Waclav's church in Dolni Kalna rebuilt in baroque style, we turn back north via Horni Kalna and Pricnice. |