Holiday apartment in Vitanov: Nature, Trails and Culture

Vitanov combines protected landscapes, traces of history and varied trails within a compact regional area. Those looking for a holiday apartment in Vitanov will find a place with its own distinctive character: The village lies within the Žďárské vrchy Protected Landscape Area, while the Chrudimka River flows through Vitanov. This makes it possible to combine experiences in nature with cultural discoveries, without limiting your stay to a single type of holiday.

Landscape and trails around Vitanov

For hikers and cyclists, trails lead through Vitanov to the nearby Veselý Kopec open-air museum. Another option is the green-marked Vlastivědná stezka Krajem Chrudimky nature trail. It runs from Čachnov via Vitanov and Stan to Bojanov. There are a total of 37 information boards along the route. In this way, the route combines physical activity with orientation regarding the area's special features.

The Stezka Po Martinových stopách trail is a 5-kilometre-long, blue-marked hiking trail from Studnice to Stanský mlýn. There are five information boards along the route covering the nature around Hlinsko and notable points along the way. The varying lengths and markings of the trails described make it easier to plan different excursion ideas when you want a manageable hike to be the focus on one day and a longer route on another.

Culture, history and regional traditions

Vitanov has several notable reminders of local history. The Jewish cemetery is surrounded by a stone wall and contains Jewish gravestones, including one from 1688. An old trade route from eastern Bohemia to Moravia once ran over Hradiště Hill; the hill was also the site of a Slavic hillfort. Hradiště is now a protected historic monument.

The connection with painting is also specifically documented. The painter František Kaván bought House No. 55 in Vitanov in 1904 and lived and worked there until 1922. His landscape paintings of the area around Vitanov can be seen, among other places, in the National Gallery and in private collections. The planned Kavánova stezka trail is intended to follow the existing green hiking markings via Kouty, Vitanov and Stan to Veselý Kopec. Information boards featuring Kaván's paintings are to be installed at viewpoints along this trail. They are intended to enable comparisons between the landscapes depicted more than a hundred years ago and the view today.

Among the distinctive structures is the steel bridge over the Chrudimka, dating from 1881. The Chapel of Saint Anne in Vitanov was consecrated on 19 October 1873 after the residents had built a new stone chapel with a vaulted roof. It is designed as a roadside chapel with an apse, semicircular windows, a small turret and a relief of the Virgin Mary. In the Stan district of Vitanov stands the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, near the main road by a railway crossing. It was consecrated on 18 October 1874 following a procession from Hlinsko.

Stan is also home to the historic Stanský water mill, Znamenáčkův mlýn, which has been documented in writing since the 17th century. The mill building contains a small hydroelectric plant with a Francis turbine that generates electricity; the facility is accessible by prior arrangement. For visitors interested in regional architectural and technological history, this site adds another vivid aspect to the themes of nature and hiking.

Special experiences in the region

The Shrovetide processions and masks in the villages of the Hlinecko region were added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. Local organisations in Vitanov also support the traditional Masopustní maškara. Those who want to discover regional customs will find a cultural connection here that extends beyond individual buildings and monuments.

For travel by train, Vitanov railway station is located on Line 238 between Pardubice and Havlíčkův Brod. All platforms are step-free, while the station building and passenger shelter are not accessible. This differing accessibility is one of the specific practical considerations you can take into account when choosing a holiday apartment or other accommodation in Vitanov.

Other places for your planning

If you would like to combine Vitanov with other destinations in the same region, you can find Otradov, Hlinsko V Cechách, Rabštejnská Lhota, Chroustovice, Skalice, Chrudim, Dvakačovice and Hodonín U Nasavrk here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Okres Chrudim.