Blešno offers several points of interest for a stay: the Chapel of the Heart of Jesus, a war memorial, prehistoric traces and the landscape along the Orlice. A cycling route and a walking route also pass through the village. This lets you choose how to explore Blešno based on the focus of your trip—cultural history, natural surroundings or outdoor activities.

Cultural History and Traces of the Past

The Chapel of the Heart of Jesus dates from 1913. The brick building is designed in a pseudo-Romanesque style and was built at the expense of V. and M. Bartoš, a married couple from Blešno. The term “pseudo-Romanesque” describes a design inspired by Romanesque forms, not the building’s age. The chapel has been protected as a cultural monument since 31 December 2015.

Blešno’s war memorial stands beneath a centuries-old lime tree near the municipal office. The sculptor V. Škoda created it in 1923 in memory of ten victims of the First World War. After the end of the Second World War, the names of three more victims were added. Its creation and the later addition of names therefore belong to two separate historical moments.

Blešno’s prehistory is also part of its history. Evidence that the area was inhabited in prehistoric times includes a pile-dwelling structure from the Bell Beaker culture near the Hodyc farmstead, house number 53. A copper axe was also found while digging a trench. The historical picture thus extends from a prehistoric settlement trace to the later buildings and memorials of the 20th century: the chapel dates from 1913, and the war memorial from 1923.

The Orlice Landscape near Blešno

The landscape on both banks of the Orlice near Blešno is part of the Orlice Nature Park. In the river system of the Tichá, Divoká and spojená Orlice rivers, the nature park protects significant landscape, natural and aesthetic values. On the left bank near Blešno are wetlands with remnants of old river channels and adjacent species-rich meadows. The distinction is useful for understanding the area: the landscape on both banks is part of the nature park, while the wetlands described are on the left bank.

In the wider region, the Orlice Protected Area safeguards floodplain forests, willow scrub, river reeds, oxbow lakes, pools and species-rich meadows. The protected area also includes the spojená Orlice and its adjoining floodplain. This regional perspective complements the specific landscape around Blešno without treating the two geographical levels as one and the same.

Cycling and Walking Routes

The “Pojedeme spolu do Betléma” cycling route runs through Blešno between Hradec Králové and Třebechovice pod Orebem. It is 14 km long, easy and suitable for trekking bikes. The “Půjdem spolu do Betléma” walking route runs from Hradec Králové via the Orlice, Svinary and Blešno to Krňovice and Třebechovice pod Orebem. The routes offer different points of reference when choosing: for the cycling route, consider its length, difficulty and suitability for trekking bikes; for the walk, consider its course through several places.

Discover more destinations: Boharyně, Stračov, Převýšov, Libřice, Káranice, Mlékosrby, Lužec Nad Cidlinou, Humburky.

For the main travel overview: Hradec Králové District.