RALSKO NATIONAL GEOPARK

RALSKO NATIONAL GEOPARK lies within the territory of a former military training area. Today, this area is a unique example of a landscape that, after decades of isolation, has been able to breathe again and develop naturally. The geopark's landscape forms a diverse mosaic of sandstone rock towers, table mountains, quiet lakes and peat bogs, vast pine forests, and surprisingly steep volcanic peaks covered with old beech forests. Between the three medieval castles of Ralsko, Bezděz, and Děvín lies a quiet landscape of exceptionally well-preserved nature, bearing traces of a long and fascinating history.

GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HIGHLIGHTS

1. Skalní divadlo and Švarcvaldská brána
rock formations, natural monument, over 3 m wide rock gate, heavily iron-stained sandstone resembling petrified trees. Distance: 3.7 km / 60 min.

2. Kozí hřbet
rock formations, quarry sites, a distinctive sandstone ridge shaped by a polzenite vein, with sandstone outcrops and remains of iron ore mining. Distance: 2.1 km / 36 min.

3. Chrastenský vodopád
a waterfall over 2 m high on the Ploučnice River below the Hill Chrastenský vrch. Distance: 4.2 km / 60 min.

4. Stohánek
natural monument, hermitage, viewpoint, an isolated rock tower with remains of a medieval settlement, used as a hermitage in the 18th century. Distance: 4.2 km / 1 hr 11 min.

5. Šachtenštejn
the deepest iron ore mine in the geopark, a site of mining activity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Distance: 2.6 km / 46 min.

6. Dlouhý kámen
table mountain, bordered on its western side by the largest continuous rock wall in the surrounding area; due to its length, it is known as the "Petrified Titanic". Distance: 4.5 km / 60 min.

CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS

7. Papírna
originally a mill, a paper mill since 1655, a Baroque monument with preserved technology, originally powered by a water wheel and later by a water turbine. Distance: 1 km / 16 min.

8. Děvín
a castle founded in the 13th century and inhabited until the early 17th century; a sandstone ridge with a volcanic polzenite vein and remains of iron ore mining. Distance: 2.2 km / 36 min.

9. Rozcestí u Sochora
monument to Major General Antonín Sochor, who was seriously injured in an unexplained car accident in 1950, relief map of the geopark. Distance: 4.5 km / 60 min.

10. Former Uranium Mine Hamr I, Shaft No. 3
monument marking the site of the entrance to the now-defunct mine. Uranium mining began in 1965. The mine consisted of four shafts and 68 kilometres of mine tunnels. Distance: 1.5 km / 23 min.

11. Chapel of Our Lady Help of Christians on Křížový vrch

a Neo-Gothic building dating from 1832, a distinctive landmark overlooking Hamr na Jezeře, with a painting of the Last Supper on the altar. Distance: 1.5 km / 23 min.

Geotrail In Search of the Iron Treasure

The mining of iron ore using an ingenious system of underground workings developed in the sandstone landscape between Doksy and Hamr na Jezeře already in the beginning of the 16th century. Hundreds of metres of pits and trenches, vertical shafts, adits and spoil heaps have survived in the landscape to this day. Follow in the footsteps of the miners of the past and discover the remains of historic mining as well as unique examples of iron-rich sandstone in the charming landscape beneath Děvín Castle.