Poniklá offers a variety of starting points for an exploration: traditional bead-making, rural architecture, a museum and a cave with underground lakes. Trails to cultural and natural landmarks are also part of the local landscape. When planning your visit, you can choose according to your interests: would you like to focus on crafts and history, or on trails and scenery? The topics described offer more than one way to explore, without requiring a set itinerary.
Bead-making and traditional skills
Rautis in Poniklá preserves and develops the traditional craft of bead-making. The technique of glass bead blowing and the making of beaded Christmas decorations were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020. This gives the craft a clearly identifiable connection between a local tradition and an internationally recognized cultural practice.
The Muzeum krkonošských řemesel displays around 700 exhibits, most of which come from Poniklá and the surrounding area. An agricultural exhibition complements the collection with traditional methods of processing flax, washing and ironing, making butter, shoemaking and furniture-making. The range therefore extends from agricultural activities and household tasks to craft skills, making the museum a different way to explore local culture from Rautis’s account of a single, specialized craft.
Every summer, courses run by the Vzdělávací spolek uměleckých řemesel bring traditional skills such as basket weaving, stone carving and blacksmithing to life. If you would like to include these courses in your plans, check the specific dates before your trip.
Church and rural architecture
The parish church Farní kostel sv. Jakuba Staršího, apoštola is a Baroque landmark in Poniklá and was consecrated in 1682. The church also houses a painting by the artist Nejedlý, which was restored by conservators from Litomyšl in 1996. The building and the painting highlight different aspects of history: the consecration dates the church, while the restoration is part of the history of a single work of art.
The village’s architectural character also includes dozens of surviving rural log buildings with richly carved gables. Krejčův statek is considered the largest farmstead in Poniklá. Taken together, the Baroque landmark, individual richly decorated gables and a large farmstead represent different scales of local architecture.
Cave, viewpoints and trails
Ponikelská jeskyně features chambers decorated with stalactites and underground lakes. Its passages are about 240 metres long. These features give the cave its own geological character alongside the visible destinations reached by trails in and around Poniklá.
Numerous footpaths and trails run through Poniklá and the surrounding area, leading to natural and cultural landmarks, viewpoints and scenic spots. You can explore them on foot, by bike and, in winter, on skis. This means you can plan around both cultural attractions and different ways to enjoy the outdoors; choose specific trail destinations to suit your interests.
The seasons also bring different highlights: the museum courses take place every summer, while exploring the trails on skis is suggested for winter. If you are interested in the courses, it is worth checking the dates before your trip; the trails also provide ideas for an outing on foot or by bike.
Discover more destinations: Prívlaka, Končiny, Václaví, Svojek, Nová Ves Nad Popelkou, Semily, Radostná Pod Kozákovem, Benecko.
Return to the main travel overview: Okres Semily.
