Chlumec U Chabařovic combines historic buildings and memorial sites with hiking and cycling routes. When planning your visit, you can focus on churches and chapels, the Battle of 1813, or a particular route. Each topic has its own points of interest, ranging from Renaissance tombs to an Art Nouveau monument and routes that pass through the town or via named viewpoints.
Churches, chapels and architectural memorials
St. Havel’s Church was built between 1847 and 1852. Its grounds include a perimeter wall with an entrance gate, a bell tower and the church itself, situated on an elevated promontory. Inside the church are figurative Renaissance tombs of the Kölbl family, dating from 1606 to 1619. The dates mark two distinct periods: the church’s construction in the 19th century and funerary art from the early 17th century.
The Chapel of the Holy Trinity was built in memory of the town’s escape from the plague epidemic of 1680. Its wall frescoes, painted in 1691, depict the Te Deum, and its floor plan is shaped like an equilateral triangle. The chapel thus brings together a commemorative purpose, an artistic subject and a distinctive architectural design. Martínkovna adds another perspective on Chlumec’s building history: it documents the town’s traditional vernacular architecture.
The memorial sites commemorating the Battle of 1813 also each have their own focus. The battle took place on 29 and 30 August 1813 near Chlumec and Přestanov in northern Bohemia. On the eastern edge of the town, at the foot of Horka, stands the battle’s centenary monument. Erected in 1913 to mark the 100th anniversary, it is 26 metres tall and an Art Nouveau monument crowned by a sculpture of a lion. The historical dates put the event in context; the year of construction, height and design describe the monument itself.
Compare hiking trails and the cycling route
The Chlumeck Way of the Cross begins at St. Havel’s Church and climbs around the basalt hill of Horka to the Chapel of the Holy Trinity. It comprises fourteen sandstone niche chapels. The route therefore connects two named religious buildings, with the chapel as its endpoint. If you are interested in the Stations of the Cross, you can find both the route and a clearly defined architectural feature here: the sandstone niche chapels.
There are hiking routes of different lengths to choose from. The green trail leads from Chlumec past the U Laviček viewpoint and the Mravenčí vrch hill; it is about seven kilometres long. The yellow trail is 7.5 kilometres long and passes through Chlumec. It connects memorials and other significant sites associated with the Battle of Chlumec, and leads to Horka and the 1813 centenary monument. The trails differ in both length and their named destinations and themes.
Another option is the approximately four-kilometre family route, which includes tasks, puzzles and a map. For cycling, route 3009 passes directly through Chlumec and is about 33 kilometres long in total. These distances give you concrete points of comparison when planning; the route with activities, the hiking trails and the cycling route offer different formats.
Plan your visit and journey
Since 1992, people interested in the Napoleonic Wars and members of military history clubs have gathered at Horka every year on the last Saturday in August for demonstrations of military history from that period. If this event is relevant to your trip, check the exact date in advance.
The Podkrušnohorský motoráček stops at Chlumec railway station. As timetables may change, check the latest service information before you travel. When choosing what to focus on during your stay, you can then decide whether to spend more time at the historic buildings and monuments or on one of the routes described here.
Discover more destinations: Ústí nad Labem, Řehlovice, Libouchec, Tisá, Velké Chvojno, Stebno, Homole U Panny, Velké Březno
For the broader travel overview: Ústí nad Labem District.
