In Hukvaldy, a large game reserve, a castle of cultural significance and several places associated with Leoš Janáček come together. You can give these themes different weight when planning your trip: a short circular walk leads from the village square to the castle ruins, longer routes focus on other things, and the game reserve is open year-round. This lets you plan your trip around the places you want to visit and the season.

Landscape, castle and Janáček

Hradní vrch Hukvaldy was designated a natural monument in 1999. The 77-hectare protected area preserves beech stands and the historic game reserve’s landscape design. The reserve surrounds Hukvaldy Castle’s ruins, covers 440 hectares and includes a 220-hectare area designated as a European protected site. In the game reserve, which is open year-round, you can observe fallow deer and mouflons.

Hukvaldy Castle is a centre of cultural life and is open to the public from April to October. Check the current opening hours before your visit. The international Janáček’s Hukvaldy music festival takes place every year in the castle grounds and the adjoining game reserve; specific programmes and venues may vary.

You can also encounter traces of Janáček in various places. In the game reserve stands a bronze statue of the vixen Bystrouška. It was erected in June 1959 to commemorate the premiere of Janáček’s opera “Příhody lišky Bystroušky” (“The Cunning Little Vixen”). The Leoš Janáček Memorial preserves the reception room, bedroom and kitchen as they were during his lifetime. The Church of St. Maximilian is also open to visitors; Janáček played the organ there.

Circular walks and excursions

The 2-kilometre Hradní vrch educational trail is a circular walk starting from the square in Hukvaldy. It passes through the game reserve gate to the castle ruins and back. If you would like to learn more about Janáček and the area, the educational circular trail “Leoš Janáček očima dětí” offers a different focus: this 8.3-kilometre loop has 13 information panels about Janáček, Hukvaldy and Dolní Sklenov. Most of the trail can be covered by bicycle or with a sports stroller; surface conditions may vary.

For cyclists, there is also the 9.5-kilometre cycling loop 6001, “Hukvaldy–Kopřivnice–Příbor”. It is suitable for trekking bikes and mountain bikes and provides access to the Větřkovice Reservoir from the direction of Hukvaldy and Příbor. Another option is the 8.6-kilometre “Okolo Hukvald” route, which starts and ends at Leoš Janáček’s birthplace. The stated distances make it easier to compare the routes; check the conditions before including a route in your plans.

More places to visit and practical planning

At Hukvaldský Stonehenge, a rest area by a weir, stones are arranged symbolically and are associated with Janáček’s work. There is also an interactive sound feature called Dendrafon. Tropic Hukvaldy combines an Asian garden with tropical greenhouses where exotic plants and animals are on display. A live butterfly exhibition takes place seasonally. If you would like to sample regional cuisine, you can try locally brewed Hukvaldy yeast beer at Hostinec U Štamgastů; availability may change.

A direct bus from Ostrava serves the “Hukvaldy, hotel” stop. As timetables and connections can change, check the current service for your travel date. If attending a festival is important to your trip, check the dates, programme and venues before finalising your plans.

Discover more destinations: Navsi, Pržno, Smilovice U Třince, Písek U Jablunkova, Staříč, Sviadnov, Frydek-Mistek, Bocanovice.

See the regional travel overview: Okres Frýdek-Místek.