Trip to Andrl's Chlum. The peculiar hill is decorated with views and interesting legends

Andrlův chlum stands aside from the curious glances of passengers who whiz over express trains to Prague, Brno or Ostrava. At the same time, only a few hills in our country are accompanied by so many old legends and ancient stories. In contrast, many famous cities, where centuries of history have taken a storm, have found themselves on the sidelines.

If it is said that all roads lead to Rome, then almost all of Ústí nad Orlicí lead to Andrlův chlum. Therefore, there are a number of attractive routes for direct ascent, half-day wandering and sightseeing. It just depends on your mood and weather forecast. And also for personal condition, because the hike is accompanied by almost a quarter-kilometer elevation gain. I first set off on the yellow route, which soon bit into Vlčí dol.

The Ústí nad Labem racehouse used to be located here. It was a house where the local executioner first lived and, after the abolition of the throat right, the urban race. Both professions were considered "dirty" by the society at the time, so they lived away from the city. Kat usually did race.

Honest citizens far from lonely buildings far beyond the periphery. On the other hand, outcasts of all kinds met under the roof of the racehouse: thieves, rapists, strange women and scum from the fringes of society. Raw fights were the order of the day here. It is said that sometimes one of the villains released his soul when it came to knives.

No wonder the racehouse had the mark of a cursed house. After years, the derelict building was bought by a blacksmith from Kerhartice, who rebuilt the building into a smithy, but he did not feel well in it, and in the final it was demolished.

The most valuable treasure

At the very end of Vlčí dol, Vlčí studánka springs. Both names prove that once upon a time, the surrounding forests provided a refuge for predators instead of a tourist area. Today, their return to our nature is desirable and a welcome number. At that time, people vigorously chased wolves and described ingenious traps, aptly called "wolf pits."

Wolf well at the end of Vlčí dol. Between the two world wars, there was an open-air summer theater here.

Once a musician allegedly fell into such a well-disguised wolf pit, returning excitedly in the middle of a night of fun. Sure, he would have comfortably crawled out of sobriety, but two stout wolves had already been caught at the bottom of the pit. The musician grabbed the clamps wittily and began to win over the wolves. The wolves howled loudly six, the musician adding uninterruptedly until the ranger happily rescued him in the morning. There was only one whole string left on the clamps, and the poor fiddler turned gray.

The wolf's well reminds us that Andrl's chlum hides the most valuable treasure in the world. Every wayfarer can take as much as he can carry. And it's completely free. The wealth of Andrl's chlum is pure spring water. The Wolf Well is not the only one you will come across during the trip. Just a short distance away is Vicen's well. She is also beautifully decorated. So carrying a larger supply of water in your backpack will be completely useless.

Cute devil

After the introductory section, there are more ways to continue. Either do not slow down on a steep climb and follow the yellow straight to the top, or you can slow down and first focus on exploring the surrounding attractions. From the crossroads at Vicenova studánka, a blind arm of the blue marked path rises to the west. The route comfortably follows the contour line and passes near the gazebo of Jander's lookout. However, it is now surrounded by mature trees.

Rozcestí U loučení is also adorned by a statue of a musician, which relates to the legend.

Nearby, in the darkness of the forest, one of the "jubilee" Liechtenstein monuments, which this aristocratic family installed on their estates, hides behind the road. The local memorial commemorates the fortieth anniversary of the reign of Prince John II. from Liechtenstein. Someone recently engraved a swastika on a run-down memorial. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but there are better ways to present it.

On the contrary, the eastern continuation of the blue will first bring tourists from Vicen's well to the upper edge of Vlčí dol. There stands a statue of a poor musician who, trapped, played wolves. Nearby, on the trunk of the tree hangs a holy figure.

The adjacent crossroads of forest roads bears the unusual name U loučení. The roots of the local name lie in the times when the most formans drove along the old road to Litomyšl. Before the steep climb in the last Ústí pub below the Andrl chlum, they usually hired a horse-drawn carriage and a second coachman to help them. When the opening heavy section was replaced by a straight line, they untied the prairie and said goodbye to the carriage.

Blue then descends from there to the city. The descent begins behind a hill break, where in the middle of the forest an image with the spiritual motif "the devil is tempting Christ" has hung on the tree since ancient times. This place is popularly called U čertouška. The picture was recently restored and a rest was added. It can be seen that the dreaded ruler of hell was demoted to a benevolent ghost, of which everyone has the most fun.

Bohemia and Moravia in the palm of your hand

From the U loučení crossroads, after jumping to the devil, I moved along a narrow road to the classicist chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. It closes the old Stations of the Cross, lined with chapels.

This is another direct route to Andrlův chlum, a large green trail. I chose the yellow one at the chapel, which accompanied me to the side valley with the Hermit's Well. At the end of the 17th century, the hermit Řehoř lived in a simple hut there. Shortly afterwards, there was even a small simple spa for a while. Now the ascetic Gregory is reminiscent of a stone bearded head overgrown with algae, from which delicious water gushes.

The Way of the Cross is closed by the Chapel of the "Holy Sepulcher". It is also called Calvary. She was consecrated in 1755.

At the Hermit's Well, I move to blue, which briskly led me to the U zabitý crossroads. An enraged bull was to kill the butcher Jakub Novák, who led the animal to Ústí for slaughter. The tragic event is commemorated by a mysterious cross of reconciliation crouched in a thicket. Hard to find, but worth seeing. Behind the "Killed" I have less than a quarter of an hour to walk to the very top of Andrl's chlum.

Here, hungry excursionists are immediately attracted by the Hvězda tourist cottage with a restaurant, behind which rises an elegant high lookout tower. Parking is available for motorists. If you come here on horseback, you can tie your horse to a wooden fence with a "horse parking" sign.

The first lookout tower made Andrl's chlum more attractive as early as 1905. The current one dates from the mid-1990s. And it is often called the "Silver Beauty".

This is where the fairytale zone begins.

The children will probably immediately embark on a short funny path, where they will be greeted by fairytale nooks inspired by the Three Veterans. However, the most beautiful reward for the climb is the panoramas from the lookout tower.

A respectable 183 steps lead up, but the views! You can see from the Elbe through the Giant Mountains, the Eagle Mountains, Králický Sněžník, to the Jeseníky Mountains. From the smaller mountains, the Iron Mountains can be seen in the distance and sharp ridges on Moravská Třebová on the opposite side.

Even in the light breeze, you can feel that the viewing platform is shaking slightly. The fares are beautiful. However, I was most interested in the view of the nearby Tichá Orlice breakthrough, which from a bird's eye view looks much more impressive than during a train ride.

Maps provided by freytag & berndt. © freytag & berndt, SHOCart, OpenStreetMap contributors. The company is also creating the book series The Wandering Camera with tips for trips throughout the Czech Republic, which is an ideal gift for admirers of the beauties of our country.