Strážiště and Pacov area

Following the footsteps of two famous personalities surprisingly connected to this small region, we will embark on a circular ride through picturesque landscapes among the three "peaks" of the triangle – Pacov, Těchobuz, and Lukavec. An important bonus will be a visit to the highest point – Strážiště. From Pacov's Svobody Square, we first head to Bernard Bolzano in Těchobuz. Our guide will be cycling route No. 321 that will take us to Zhořec. We will descend into the valley of the Trnava creek and opposite on the hill sits the village monument zone Zhoř. We won't miss the original early Gothic church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, especially because it belongs to the type of churches without towers (see so-called Podlipnické churches, trip No. 13), while the tower stands separately. From Zhoř, we return to the creek where at the junction near the quarry we can choose either 2 km along the second-class road or the safer forest asphalt road. Around the quarry, we climb the hill and reach Bolzano's spring, where we meet the educational trail "Along the monuments of Těchobuz." It leads us along a forest path to the village center, where we can calmly admire the chateau, gallery, and other monuments. At the end of the visit, do not miss the timbered barn and granary because just beyond them the road continues – by asphalt through fields and forests to Mezilesí, towards the second target of our trip, Lukavec. We will climb nicely to Mezilesí as our route begins to wind around Strážiště hill and the whole relief rises. Even the Mezilesí church of St. James appears ancient like a former watch fortress, which did not lack a necessary view of the landscape. Behind Zelená Ves, we cross the valley of another creek and enter Lukavec straight from the chateau side. Near the Brewery Pond, we turn left into an open gate in the stone wall and admire the chateau park, including the unmissable visit to Hříbek with the Antonín Sova museum. Thus, we find ourselves at the beginning of Sova's trail and the fate of the poet's homeland, which will accompany us through the Strážiště forests back to Pacov. To enjoy the comfort of forest roads and mountain air, we will cross the forest complexes around Strážiště back and forth. This allows us to avoid big climbs and still have a good ride. We leave Lukavec in the direction of Vyklantice, but at Dolská hunting lodge, we turn right onto a forest asphalt road. We weave through forest paths through the entire northern forest of Strážiště up to the chapel of St. John the Baptist with a spring. Refreshments can be enjoyed deep in the woods. However, we reach the actual summit of Strážiště a bit earlier – at a green trail intersection, from which an asphalt access road leads up to the transmitter. We take a comfortable route from Strážiště to Útěchovice, where in 1904, the theater director and co-creator of the Czech theater avant-garde Jiří Frejka was born at the hunting lodge. We return to the road network and the marked cycling trail No. 1217. This will lead us back to Pacov. Before that, however, for the third time, we cross the valley of the Trnava creek, passing through Velká Chyška. Some may be motivated to look for the former castle Hrádek in the settlement beyond the valley, but know that in the agricultural buildings on the site of the former Hrádek, you will not see much poetry of old times. It is better to hurry to Pacov, to which we still owe a visit to its monuments. Although the Sova trail ends in the park around which we enter the town, Sova's museum is in the chateau premises and presents exhibitions not only about the poet but also about all the interesting things of the Pacov area. In conclusion, we can walk along Spálená street and quench the thirst from the trip in the Pacov microbrewery.