Length of the route: 4 km

Course of the route: Turnov, square of Český ráj – former Pacltova huť – Metelkovy sady – Dlask farm in Dolánky – chateau Hrubý Rohozec

Trail route: Turnov, Bohemian Paradise Square (náměstí Českého ráje) – former Pacltova huť (Paclt's glassworks) – Metelkovy sady (Metelka's orchards) – Dlask's farm in Dolánky (Dlaskův statek v Dolánkách)  – gate of Hrubý Rohozec Chateau

Trail description: The trail is 3.5 km in length and starts in the centre of Turnov. It leads through Metelka's orchards towards the Jizera River (turnoff to Dlask's farm) and from there to Hrubý Rohozec Chateau. It focuses on culture and history, as well as on Nature. A printed guide is available at the Turnov Information Centre.

The path starts in the Turnov town centre and continues via Skálova Street, used as the avenue for access to the city parks in the 19th century, Metelkovy sady parks to the Jizera River (with a detour to the Dlask farm) and further to the Hrubý Rohozec Chateau. The path not only informs about the history and culture of the region, but also about its nature. A printed guide is available at the Town Information Centre in Turnov.

Turnov

Turnov is considered the centre of Bohemian Paradise and a starting point for many walking and cycling tourist paths. The town was founded in the mid-13th century by Jaroslav and Havel of the Markvartice family. Its history is connected with notable aristocratic families who built their mansions in the surroundings, such as Waldstein Castle and Hrubý Rohozec. Gradually, the town developed into a major centre of trade and crafts. Cutting of precious stones and the unique manufacture of Czech garnet jewels made Turnov famous all over the world. Turnov and the whole region are well introduced by the exhibitions of the Bohemian Paradise Museum.

Church of St. Francis of Assisi

The Church of St.Francis was built in the mid 17th century by Maximilian of Waldstein. It was twice destroyed by fire, in 1707 and 1803. Its present appearance is the result of the last reconstruction in the period 1803-22. The church front is decorated by a portal with the stone coat of arms of the Waldstein family and a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in the alcove above it. In the course of the summer holidays, in July and August, the Turnov churches are opened to the public every Monday, so you can not only visit the Church of St. Francis but also the Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary and The Church of St. Nicolas. 

Bohemian Paradise Museum in Turnov

Turnov and the whole region are well introduced by the exhibitions of the Bohemian Paradise Museum. Since 1886, the Museum has been collecting documentary materials about the natural wealth of Bohemian Paradise and its cultural history. The unique exposition is dedicated to precious stones and jewellery. It is supplemented by archeological, historical and national history sections. The permanent exposition also includes a unique panoramic picture by Mikoláš Aleš entitled "Pobití Sasíků pod Hrubou Skálou" (The Defeat of the Saxons below Hrubá Skála), which is 8.5 x 10 m in size and dates back to 1895. A Stone Masons' house was built on the premises of the museum. The house copies house No. 19 of the early 18th century, which was situated on the corner of the present Havlíček Square and 28 října Street till April 1973. The project resulted in a "living" house offering examples of goldsmithing and jewellery – historic crafts with a long tradition in the region. 

Paclt glassworks

Paclt glassworks is the last surviving building of the whole city quarter called Sklenařice, pulled down for the purpose of the construction of a new school for jewellers in 1908. The glassworks is a simple prism-shaped building with a tented roof and a mighty brick chimney for exhausting combustibles, built in the late 18th century on the site of the ditch around the town walls for the purpose of glass composition firing. Its furnace was operated until 1864. The operator of the plant was Antonín Paclt (1800-1864), the most successful Turnov exporter of glass compositions, who won numerous awards at many international exhibitions in the years between 1845 and 1855.

Metelkovy and Rývovy sady

The origin of the Turnov parks is linked to two entities – the Decoration Society and the Municipal Savings Bank. A park was established on a plot called Harp and opened to the public on the occasion of the regional folklore exhibition in April 1993. The greatest contribution to the creation of the park came from the man whose name it now bears, headmaster and teacher at Turnov schools Václav Rýva. After 1920 this town improvement activity was also joined by the Municipal Savings Bank. The savings bank purchased the Šetřilovsko estate and extended the town parks with another part, now named Sady Metelkovy. The park was named after PhDr. and RNDr. Jindřich Metelka, a geographer, teacher and regional MP.

Dlaskův statek

The farm is a typical example of traditional folk architecture in the Turnov style from the late 18th century. The building is a free-standing unit surrounded by a log fortification with two gates – the upper brick gate with a wooden belfry and the lower wooden gate. Of the original buildings in the farm yard, a timber-framed barn remains. The farm also includes a statue of the Virgin Mary from 1784 and a two-storey timber-framed granary. The farm now houses the Bohemian Paradise Museum, with a folklore exhibition about the life of our ancestors. Dlask farm often holds events such as Shrovetide, Christmas and Easter markets, etc.

Jizera River Valley

The river, around 165 km long, is the major right-side tributary of the Elbe, lined with important trading paths since times immemorial.  The Jizera River valley in Dolánky is an important landscape area. In 2005, this territory together with Bohemian Paradise became part of the first UNESCO European Geo Park in the Czech Republic. The information panels offer information about the geological nature of the area, about the local vegetation including invasive plants, spread mainly as a result of anthropological activity in the territory.

Hrubý Rohozec

The chateau is one of the dominant features and one of the oldest architectural monuments of the Turnovsko region. Its origin dates back to the latter half of the 13th century. The chateau was a family seat for the Vartenbergs, the Krajíř and Des Fours Walderode families. The state-owned Hrubý Rohozec Chateau, surrounded by a small English park, can be explored thanks to three sightseeing tour routes showing more than twenty richly furnished rooms used as representative and residential halls of the family of French counts Des Fours Walderode (such as the library, the green chamber, the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, the count's apartment, the hunting corridor, the children's playroom, etc.).