ubytování a restaurace Liberec
hotel Liberec
Jested ridge
Jitrava–Na Vetrniku (the ramblers’ trail marked in red)–Rozcesti pod lomem 2 km– Velky Vapenny 3.5 km – krizovatka Travnik 5 km – kaple sv. Krystofa 7.5 km – Krystofovo Udoli (Krizanske Sedlo) 9 km – Na Vyprezi 14 km – Jested (peak, mountain hotel) 16 km – Plane pod Jestedem (lodge, ramblers’ trail marked in blue) 18.5 km – U Samalu (public house) 21.5 km – Rasovske sedlo 24.5 km – Javornik 26 km – Radlo 30.5 – Cerna Studnice (lookout point) 40.5 km.
The most extreme path in the whole of Jested, it roughly follows the famous Hrebenovka – Kammweg Trail, which was built by the combined forces of several mountain associations at the start of the 20th century and marked by a blue comb in a white field. A demanding path suitable only for the sturdiest hikers all the way along, it goes through some culturally and architecturally very interesting territory on the very border of languages, and still recalls today the robust highlanders from the beginnings of the development of hiking. The old Hrebenovka trail is still marked in several places by stone signposts (Vyprez, U Samalu, Rasovka). Most parts of the trail are unsuitable for cycling.
The best way to get to Jitravskr Sedlo (the Jitrava Saddle) is by bus from Liberec. It is also possible to make use of the train connection to Rynoltice before returning around 3 km to the saddle. Until the 1950s the Jitrava Saddle was home to the well–known travellers’ inn Windschänke (Wind Tavern), although today only the name Na Vetrniku (the Windmill) remains. There are a number of concrete garrisons from the Czechoslovak fortifications in the area; interestingly it was here where Adolf Hitler visited on his inspection of occupied territories.
It is right here where Jested Ridge starts. Ascend slope of Jitravsky Vrch (651 m above sea level) along the red trail, steep almost the whole way up. The highly distinctive Havran rock can be found nearby with its 43 m valley face (suitable for climbers). Here and there views of Jitrava with the distinctive Kostelni Vrch (Church Hill, 500) and Kostel sv. Pankrace (Church of St. Pancrass, built 1710) can be found along the path. Go past the limestone quarry, the strong spring in a pond and you arrive at the vast Lom na Velkem Vapennem (Quarry on the Big Limestone, 790 m), in which the famous Zapadni Jeskyne (Western Cave) can be found. The cave was discovered in 1956, and is now inaccessible. You can make a detour from the Limestone and go down the yellow trail towards the ruins of Roimund castle, a round journey of about 2 km. (For a history of the castle, see the detailed description in the Castles, Stately Homes and Ruins in the Area section.)
From here the path continues right along the main ridge and thus follows the line of the European Divide between the Baltic and North Seas. Go past the crossroads on Travnik (the Lawn), near to which the well–known lodge Rasenbankbaude used to stand on the left by the path in the 1920s and ‘30s. The place is named after the turf benches which huntsmen and foresters used to build long ago. The hut, which once offered a pleasant view of Jested’s peak from its windows, perished after World War II and today only overgrown walls in high forestry and a small pile of broken old bottles remain.
Continue further along the red trail towards Krizanske Sedlo, the path leads through fairly pleasant spruce woodland, without sharp climbs, and in many places you can examine the old sandstone hranicni patniky (border bollards), which have marked out the boundary between the Lemberk and Grabstejn estates since the 18th century. Walk through the surroundings of Kaplicka sv. Krystofa (the Chapel of St. Christopher, patron saint of travellers). The trees on this part of the mountain were chopped down to create meadows with a nice view, before the chapel itself was built and consecrated in 1763, and a picture by Josef Führich was hung inside. After many years of decay the chapel has been repaired and another bench has been placed in the vicinity. After the chapel climb steeply up the slope of Lom Hill (Quarry Hill, 682 m). Suddenly however the path begins to descend into Krizanske Sedlo (576 m), through which runs the Krystofovo Udoli–Krizany road. The Socha Piety (Pieta Statue) has stood in the saddle since1766.
The red trail climbs steeply up to the featureless peak of Bukovina (872 m), already continuing gently towards the peak of Maly Jested (Little Jested, 754 m). The path passes the old quarry Na Metadiabas, which has a small lake at the bottom, before you get the chance to have a look at the ruins of the once very popular inn Jäckelbaude, which was built here shortly after the Second World War. Continue without severe climbs and falls along the easy forest lane before making a short detour to Danske Kameny (Danish Stones), robust quartz rock walls with independent towers (to be found more to the right, lower in the forest). The stones serve as a slightly dangerous natural vantage point over the area around Cerna Hora (Black Mountain, 811 m, on the right), Dlouha Hora (Long Mountain, 748 m, roughly in the middle) and Velky Vapenny (Big Limestone, 789 m, on the left). A few short minutes later and you get to the saddle Na Vyprezi (770 m), the highest point of Jested Road, joining Liberec with Podjestedi (the area under Jested). A picture of St. Mary once hung in the saddle, the history of which is described in the chapter How to Get to Jested. The picture should be restored by the year 2005 and hung on one of the beeches on the path going down from Vyprezi to Krizany, the valley of Jested Brook.
Before you now is the final ascent to the peak of Jested and the region designated as the Natural Monument of Terasa Jested. Characteristic quartz rocks and stones are strewn along the way, the extreme climatic conditions here create so–called flag spruces and other deformed trees in the undergrowth. The marked trail brings you to the road, from whence vrchol Jestedu (Jested peak, 1 012 m, described in detail in a separate chapter titled Jested) is just five minutes away. The final stage before reaching the bare plateau of the mountain passes through scrub planted here artificially at the end of the 19th century by the forester Josef Placht. Besides Jested Hotel and the Rohan remembrance stone jestedska vyhlidka (Jested lookout point) above the upper cable car station is also worth a visit. The lookout point was smartened up and given benches and railings in 2003 by the Jizersko–Jestedsky Mountain Association. A panorama describing each visible peak on the other side of the Liberec basin is attatched to the railings.
Go downhill from Jested along the road, which goes through a short tunnel under the cable–car station and leads through a wide–ranging mass of stone which spreads out over both sides. From here you are offered a lovely view into Podjestedi. You will quickly reach chata Jestedka (Jested lodge), where you leave the asphalt path and continue along the red trail to Cerny Vrch (Black Hill, 950 m), where several intermediate ski–runs with ski–lifts begin, and further along the overgrown ridge to Plane pod Jestedem (the Plain under Jested).
Here you join up with the blue trail, which relentlessly heads right up to the peak of Cerne Studnice in the Jablonec region. The path continues from the Plain over the gentle Hlubocky Hreben towards the monument commemorating the mass demonstration of many thousands of Czech and German workers for social progress in 1870. The path goes through pleasant woodland with occasional views over Podjestedi. Spruces and rowans deformed by the harsh climate are a very noticeable point of interest here. You come out of the forest by the still popular mountain pub U Samalu, which was visited by Czechs from under Jested on their way to Liberec as early as the 19th century (a history of the pub is described in the chapter Jested district – Prosec pod Jestedem). The path goes from the inn through meadows to the short Rasovsky Ridge, with its many views of the Jizera Mountains and the Nisa Valley. By the ancient U Gawora building, which has been somewhat spoiled by later modifications, you enter the village of Rasovka, which used to be the first Czech village (populated mostly by Germans) on the way from the Liberec Basin to Czech Podjestedi.
You alternately rise and fall through picturesque meadows towards Javornicke Kaplicka (a chapel built in 1842 with Baroque nouveau gables added in 1906). The small saddle beneath Javornik (684 m) was once well– known for its intriguing, gigantic restaurant brought from the Vienna exhibition in 1899, which burnt down in 1974. Its reconstruction is under consideration. Go through Javornik in the direction of the village Zaskali, once on the main road between Liberec and Prague. Before you exit the forest you go round a large clearing on the left, on the edge of which the so–called Kamenny Stul (Stone Table, a memorial for Adolf Waldert, a cart–wright from Hodkovice and a member of the gymnastic association, who injured himself in a nearby ski race in February 1935) is to be found.
Go further down the blue trail to Jermanice, where the Jested Mountains end. The main hrebenovka (or Kammweg) however leads further to Radla and Cerne Studnice (Black Well, 869 m). The most hard–core hikers going from Jitrava Saddle right up to one of the most charming view points in the Jizera foothills will have walked for over 40 kilometres!
Hrebenovka or Kammweg
The most famous ridge path in central Europe was marked with a blue comb in a white field between Jested and Ruzovsky Vrch in Ceskosaske Svycarsko (Czech–Saxon Switzerland) at the start of the 20th century (1902–1903), and was later extended as far as Praded in the East and Blankenstein (near As) in the west. In this region the path is marked out by associations from Liberec, Zittau, Krasna Lipa and Decin in turn. Dr. Franz Hantschel (1844–1941), a renowned traveller and explorer, took care of publicising the trail. A good–quality, instructive guidebook was published about rambling along the Hrebenovka, while Dr. Amand Paudler from Ceska Lipa wrote a comprehensive book about his walk between Jested and Ruzovsky Vrch. The trail perished during World War II, but you can still come across some monuments referring to it today. Perhaps the best– known of these is the obelisk–signpost situated in the Na Vyprezi saddle; sadly it is now defaced by colour symbols. Other reminders are on the other side of Jested, on the blue trail leading from the U Samalu pub towards Javornik. Three massive, relatively undamaged stones inscribed with a comb have been preserved until today, their sturdiness testifying to the strength and seriousness of hiking and hikers at the beginning of the 19th century.
It is interesting that Hrebenovka leads from the old Bismarck’s Lookout in Praded (built in 1912 and removed in 1979) to its copy in Wetzstein, near Blankenstein in Germany. The whole distance of Hrebenovka from Blankenstein to Krnov stretches over around 760 km. The section between Jested and Ruzovsky Vrch was just the beginning.
Jäckelbaude
Maly Jested (Little Jested, 750 m), also sometimes known as Moiselova Kupa (Moiselkoppe), is an insignificant hill nowadays, but there was a time when tens and even hundreds of people headed for it. The history of the lodge on Maly Jested is closely linked with border guards. The former “financwach“ Wenzel bought some property which was then used by the military after his retirement at the beginning of the 20th century. A well–known smuggling route led across the hill, and in 1906 the hikers’ inn named Jäckelbaude was opened beneath the summit. Hikers liked it very much, and after a short while a hostel was added next door. Business on the remote slope of Maly Jested was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, which meant a decline in the number of guests. Jäckel’s eldest son, who should have gradually taken over the running of the establishment, fell on the Russian front.
In the time of the first Republic the inn was sought out by hikers and mountain–lovers, it was full at Christmas and on New Year’s Eve, and at weekends it regularly held dances. In summer visitors used to sleep not only in the rooms but also in the surrounding meadows. It is said that in the winter they even used to toboggan from the hill through Novina right down to the first houses in Krystofova Udoli (Christopher’s Valley). Groceries were transported the same way all year round, bread and pastries were baked in the kitchen and enough beer was brought in in autumn to last the whole of the winter season and according to eyewitnesses was still being drunk at Easter. The symbol of the new times was the piano, the remains of which now lie near the hut.
World War II finally put an end to Jäckelbaude’s prosperity, when the 50 year old publican had to join up and fight. After the end of the war his family was expelled and Mr. Basik, a Czech tenant, took hold of the inn. Czech highlanders from under Jested became accustomed to regularly going to the inn for dances, and after nationalisation the inn became a leisure building for the Prague company Optika. However, the building gradually fell into further disrepair and later became, in a highly impoverished state, the property of the forestry commission, who had the building demolished in the 1960s. Today there are only ruins to commemorate one of the best–known Jested inns.
Cerna Studnice (Black Well)
Cerna Studnice has always been a tourist magnet for the Jablonec region. For Jablonec hikers it has had the same meaning as Jested has for walkers from Liberec, what is more it lies on the famous Hrebenovka (Kammweg). The first two lookout points, complete with safety railings, were set up here as early as 1885 on the rocks at the peak, one of them still survives, the other stood where today’s viewing tower now is. The German mountain association for Jablonec started in 1904 with the building of viewing towers and lodges on Cerna Studnice. The robust, 26–metre tower was designed by the “viewing tower“ architect Robert Hemmrich, and was festively opened on August 14 with 6,000 mountain–lovers in attendance. The lodge was very modern for its day, with central heating, gas lighting and even a rental service for the then popular Rennwolf sledges. The popularity of this leisure resort grew so much that it soon had to be extended to provide an overall capacity of 1,500 guests.
