There are several ways to shape a stay in Bela Nad Svitavou: church art, memorial sites, geology or cycling. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, you can start by considering which of these themes you want your stay to focus on. The All Saints’ Church offers an art-historical perspective, while the memorial sites have their own historical associations. Čertova díra, meanwhile, is notable for its geological classification and the location of one of its entrances.
Baroque church and sacred art
The All Saints’ Church is a Baroque building constructed between 1751 and 1770. Its high altar is adorned with a painting by the artist Josef Scheivl. A fresco from 1928 depicts Saint Elizabeth of Hungary distributing bread to poor people. The two works have different emphases: the painting is part of the high altar’s furnishings, while the fresco tells a specific story. A stone cross dating from 1811 stands in front of the church. Near the entrance to the sacristy is a statue of Saint John of Nepomuk from 1768. Architecture, paintings and individual monuments thus form a shared cultural and historical focus. Another historical trace is the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, which was transferred from Podlesí to the church in Německá Bělá.
Memorial sites and pilgrimage
The memorial to the victims of the First World War stands in a lime-tree park near the All Saints’ Church. Other commemorative associations can be found in the local cemetery: 42 Jewish people who died during transport from Poland to Schindler’s factory in Brněnec are buried in a mass grave. The grave of paratrooper Ivan Banděrev is also in the same cemetery. His remains were transferred to the local cemetery on 28 October 1947. The sites therefore differ both in location and in the events they commemorate.
The traditional pilgrimage is also connected with the All Saints’ Church: it takes place every year on the third Sunday after Easter to mark the consecration of the church. The 2026 event, held on 26 April, featured rides and other fairground attractions for children and adults. If you would like to plan a future trip around the pilgrimage, check the date and programme for the year you have in mind.
Geology and cycling
Čertova díra is a 115-metre-long and 12-metre-deep pseudokarst fissure cave in Cretaceous marlstones of the Jizera Formation. It is one of the longest caves of this type formed in Cretaceous rock in the Czech Republic. One of its three entrances is in a rock face shaped by quarrying, about 40 metres above the valley floor of the Bělský Brook valley. If you plan to visit the area, check the terrain conditions locally; the entrance’s approximate elevation makes the surroundings a different planning consideration from the church’s art and history.
For cycling enthusiasts, cycle route 4201 runs through Hradec nad Svitavou, Banín, Bělá nad Svitavou and Bohuňov. Its named route provides a specific connection for planning a ride, while the church and memorial sites are cultural and historical highlights. The geology of Čertova díra, in turn, offers a different perspective on the landscape.
Discover more destinations: Víska U Jevíčka, Řídký, Biskupice, Rozstání, Makov, Příluka, Vysoká U Jevíčka, Koclířov.
For the broader travel overview: Okres Svitavy.
