Trip to Hořice town of tubes and statues
Hořice v Podkrkonoší lies about halfway between Jičín and Hradec Králové directly below the long forest ridge Hořický Chlum. The city is famous not only for its tubes, but also for its sculpture school, whose creations can be found in many places in the city. The famous Jan Žižka from Trocnov also led the battle around the Gothard hill (353 m above sea level).
Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad in Hořice
A good starting point for a tour of Hořice in the Krkonoše Mountains is the local main square of George of Poděbrady. You can park comfortably here. The square has a nice plague column and the town hall with a turret
Hořice Town Hall
Hořice Town Hall will fascinate you with its neo-Gothic tower – such a small Big Ben. Today, the city information center is located here
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
To the south of the square stands the mighty Baroque Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
Entrance to Smetana's orchards
From the church we move along Janderova Street to the park – Smetanovy sady, where the first load of Hořice statues is (approx. 700 meters walk)
Statue of Krakonoš
The Krakonoše statue is right at the edge of the park and for me it is the best work of the local statues. In addition, the children have quite respect for him
Monuments in Smetana's orchards
There are a total of eight monuments in the orchards, including Smetana, Dvořák and Alša. There is also a children’s playground and a fitness playground
Pilgrimage Church of St. Gothard
From the park we enter the hill Gothard. We enter the cemetery, which is dominated by the Pilgrimage Church of St. Gothard
Gothard Cemetery
Even the cemetery itself stands and walks, you will find a number of magnificent tombs and sculptures. There is also a monument to Jan Žižka
Portal of the new cemetery
Probably the biggest attraction of Hořice is the beautiful portal of the new cemetery
Rieger's obelisk
From the cemetery we continue in the direction of the sculpture park U sv. Gothard. At the beginning of it is a twelve meter high Rieger's obelisk
Sculpture park at St. Gothard
In the park you will find dozens of different statues. The slope of the hill is sunny, so it is possible to refresh or relax here
View of the Hořice brewery
From the sculpture park, we move about 600 meters further to the interesting building of the Hořice brewery
Hořice brewery JungBerg
Hořice brewery JungBerg is not only an interesting building, but you can also eat well here and of course taste the local specialties
Hořice chateau
Just a short distance next to the brewery, you will pass Hořický zámek, which is not impressive at all
Fountain on Jiřího z Poděbrad Square
The circle closes, I'm back on the square of George of Podebrady. In its middle part there is also a nice fountain
Masaryk Tower of Independence
If you want to extend your trip, you can go to the beautiful Masaryk Tower of Independence, which also serves as a lookout tower. It is located about 1.3 km to the north from the center of
View from the tower
The view from the tower is nice – you can see the Giant Mountains, Zvičina and the center of Hořice
Articles nearby
Giga List: The most beautiful trips in the Giant Mountains
You may be surprised at how many beautiful trips and tours you can take in the Giant Mountains. There are many interesting towns… continue reading