Horní Krupá: Churches, Nature and Special Discoveries

Horní Krupá combines remarkable churches, historical traces and a varied landscape with small discoveries for days spent together. In the village and its immediate surroundings, religious architectural history, educational trails, waterscapes and nature-oriented activities come together. This means that your stay can be shaped according to your interests—culturally, actively or through exploration.

Churches and Historical Traces

In the center of Horní Krupá stands the Neo-Gothic Chapel of the Virgin Mary, built in 1895. Another important building is the Evangelical church. It was built in 1847 and consecrated on October 30 of the same year. The single-nave Neoclassical prayer house has tall windows whose upper sections feature arched forms, as well as a triangular gable. The history of the village also includes the independent Evangelical congregation, founded in 1867.

A historical trace leads west of Horní Krupá to the nearby Krátecké lesy. There lies Jelení studánka. At this historic spring, the Bohemian Brethren gathered for secret services after the Battle of White Mountain. The educational trail from Horní Krupá to Krátecké lesy and Jelení studánka is equipped with information panels covering various natural and historical topics.

A Landscape of Hills, Trees and Ponds

The landscape also offers clear destinations for walks and excursions. At 598 meters above sea level, Volský vrch is the highest point in the wider surroundings and offers a view. Near Horní Krupá there is also a protected European beech, estimated to be about 300 years old, with a trunk circumference of 620 centimeters.

The Jilemský potok flows through Horní Krupá. Several ponds have been created along it and along the Krupský potok. Another distinctive place is the natural swimming area on the road to Zálesí, which includes a Loch Ness figure, a wooden island and a bastion. These individual landscape features give the village different themes for an excursion, without requiring nature and local history to be viewed separately.

Educational Trails, Hiking Trail and Cycling Route

A blue-marked hiking trail runs through Horní Krupá, continuing from Vepříkov via Jilem and Lysá to Havlíčkův Brod. Cycling route 4153 also runs below Trčolec in the direction of Knyk. Those who want to combine different ways of getting around during their stay will find both a marked hiking connection and a designated cycling route in the documented surroundings of the village.

Observation and Hands-On Activities

At the Ekocentrum Chaloupky Horní Krupá, the three-hour program “Badatelství u potoka / na louce” offers an insight into field research by the Krupský potok or in a meadow. The program “Luční krásky a babice II” takes place in the garden and on the Za Humny educational trail. It includes a short botanical study and a comparison of a flowering meadow with an agriculturally used meadow.

Other activities focus on traditional processes and nature observation. “Cesta chleba” follows the journey of bread from the field through the mill and bakery to the household. It includes threshing with a flail and baking small loaves in an oven. “Včelí království” explores the life of bees, the collection of nectar and pollen, and a tasting of bee products. For families with different interests, these themes offer concrete connections between the landscape, crafts and regional everyday culture.

For further research into the area, you can also visit Přibyslav, Vilémov, Bartoušov, Ostrov, Trpišovice, Skuhrov, Bojiště and Jeřišno.

For the higher-level travel overview: Havlíčkův Brod District.