The castle, the traces of Jaroslav Hašek and the sculptures in old granite quarries reveal different sides of Lipnice nad Sázavou: medieval architecture, literary history and art in the landscape. When choosing a route, you can opt for a short circular walk in the town or the approximately 12 km Haškova cesta educational trail. This lets you tailor your visit to a compact stroll or a longer route.

Hašek: Exhibition and two routes

The Jaroslav Hašek Memorial is a small exhibition in the writer’s house about his life and work. Haškova cesta extends this literary connection into the landscape: the educational trail runs from Světlá nad Sázavou to Lipnice nad Sázavou, is about 12 km long and has seven stops. The trail retraces the journey Hašek and the painter Jaroslav Panuška made together in 1921.

For a shorter walk around the town, try the marked route “Městskou branou k hrobu Jaroslava Haška” (Through the Town Gate to Jaroslav Hašek’s Grave). It starts in the square in Lipnice and passes the ruins of the town gate and Bílá věž, goes by the Chapel of St. Anthony and continues to the old cemetery with Hašek’s grave. By comparison, Haškova cesta is considerably longer, at about 12 km, and focuses on the journey made by Hašek and Panuška. The town route links several named stops with the writer’s grave; the educational trail retraces a historic journey.

Castle and cultural history

Státní hrad Lipnice (Lipnice State Castle) offers a self-guided tour of monumental medieval architecture and unique views of the surrounding landscape. This provides a distinct alternative to the literary routes: a tour of the castle and views of the surrounding countryside.

Haškova Lipnice has been held since 1959 in the open-air amphitheatre below the castle. Another historic connection with this place dates to 3 September 1988: at the Folková Lipnice festival, then officially called “Písní za mír,” Václav Havel gave his first public address in more than 19 years in the amphitheatre below the castle. Both events are part of the amphitheatre’s cultural history, but they took place in different decades.

Visitors could watch stonemasons and stone sculptors at work in front of the castle.

Granite quarries and marked routes

There are old, water-filled granite quarries with sculptures in the area around Lipnice nad Sázavou. Bretschneiderovo ucho is part of the “Národní památník odposlechu” (National Memorial to Eavesdropping), located in old, water-filled granite quarries near Lipnice. A well-marked route, identified by coloured markings, connects the memorial’s artworks. While Haškova cesta retraces a historic journey, here a well-marked route connects the memorial’s artworks.

The route “Okolo zatopených lomů k Hlavě XXII.” (Around the Flooded Quarries to Head XXII) is marked from the square in Lipnice; an orientation map is also located there. This identifies the route’s starting point and an orientation point in the square. When choosing a route, it is worth considering their different focuses: Hašek and his literary history on one hand, and the artworks in the granite quarries on the other.

Discover more destinations: Druhanov, Vysoká, Chotěboř, Nejepín, Rušinov, Dolní Sokolovec, Boňkov, Skryje.

For the broader travel overview: Okres Havlíčkův Brod.