Choustníkovo Hradiště: Church, Castle Site and Cycling Route

Choustníkovo Hradiště is one of the places where you can combine cultural history and cycling during a single stay. The town brings together a Baroque church, an archaeological castle site, reminders of Count Franz Anton Sporck and a signposted regional cycling route. When choosing your accommodation, you can therefore weigh up a stay shaped by cultural history against a trip with a stronger focus on cycling connections.

Church, Castle Site and Sporck Heritage

The Baroque Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built from 1760 to 1770 according to a design by the master builder and architect Leopolda Niederöcker and was consecrated on October 14, 1770. A crypt is located beneath the tower, where, among others, nuns from the former convent and local priests are buried. The church thus combines its Baroque origins with a place of local remembrance of the dead. For visitors interested in cultural history, this site brings together architecture, consecration and the crypt beneath the tower.

The archaeological castle site of Choustníkovo Hradiště has a tripartite layout of the bergfried castle type. The castle was strategically built on a high rocky promontory; an Old Slavic fortified settlement had previously stood at this location. It was built at the beginning of the 14th century; later it bore the name Palackým Choustníkovo Hradiště. The high rocky promontory defines the spatial relationship between the older fortified settlement and the medieval fortification.

In the park in front of the former Hotel Sporck, a bust of Count Franz Anton Sporck stands on a high pedestal. Today, only a deteriorating remnant of the hotel remains. The Sporck bust monument was unveiled on July 7, 1901. Today, the Sporck Monument displays a copy of the bust; the original is located in the ceremonial hall of the municipal office in Choustníkovo Hradiště. The present-day copy at the monument and the original in the municipal office therefore form two separate places within the local memory. If you would like to view cultural monuments not only according to their age but also according to their changing form, this site offers a particularly concrete example.

Cycling Route and Memorial Site

The signposted regional Cycling Route 4098 reaches Choustníkovo Hradiště at kilometer 15 from Ratibořice. From Choustníkovo Hradiště, it continues via Cycling Route 4097 to Stanovice, where it connects to Route 24 and the Elbe Cycle Route (Labská stezka). For cyclists, the connection can be divided into sections: from Ratibořice to Choustníkovo Hradiště, onward via Stanovice and finally to Route 24 and the Elbe Cycle Route (Labská stezka).

A memorial ceremony has been held every year in May since 2003 at the grave of the victims of the death march in Choustníkovo Hradiště. This date complements the historic buildings with an annually recurring form of remembrance.

Other Places for Planning Your Trip

If you would like to continue planning your trip beyond Choustníkovo Hradiště, you can also visit the following places: Klášterská Lhota, Velké Svatoňovice, Čermná v Krkonoších, Markousovice, Dolní Brusnice, Libotov, Nemojov U Dvora Králové Nad Labem and Horni Olesnice.

For the overview of the wider area: Trutnov District.