Osek: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Osek is home to natural monuments, medieval architectural heritage, and the history of iron processing. This profile is complemented by historic religious buildings, a cultural monument, and traces of the former Kamýk pleasure palace.

Nature and Geology

The Osek – Labutinka Pond area is a Natura 2000 site of European importance covering approximately 14 hectares. Vosek is also associated with Osek: its cadastral area includes Osek u Rokycan, and Vosek is a national natural monument as well as part of the Barrandien National Geopark.

The Vosek locality features a thick weathering mantle with siliceous concretions up to 50 centimetres in diameter. These originate predominantly from sediments of the Šárka Formation and partly from the Dobrotivá Formation; they contain fossils and a very diverse fauna.

Culture and History

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary dates from the second half of the 13th century. The original Gothic stronghold of Osek was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the second half of the 16th century. The Kamýk pleasure palace dates from 1750; only two enclosing walls remain.

Osek has an almost four-century tradition of iron ore mining and iron processing, dating back to around 1568. In 1673, Osek had one blast furnace and two hammer mills. Iron ore was mined here until the deposits were exhausted in 1850.

The Jewish cemetery Židovský hřbitov is located directly in Osek, on the eastern slope of the rocky hill with the ruins of the Kamýk pleasure palace. Osek’s Jewish cemetery contains 101 gravestones, fragments, or pedestals. The Osek château is an immovable cultural monument. Osek château is closed to the public and can only be seen to a limited extent through the gate in the southwest and from the northwest via the gardens.

Surroundings and Regional Context

In the surroundings of Osek lies Svatý Martin, a church, as well as Radyně, a mountain. Kokotsko [Bušovice] is a hill in the immediate vicinity of Osek. In the wider regional area are Hřeben and Hlava, both mountains, as well as Zřícenina Valdek and Týřov, both ruins. Plzen Barholomaeus Cathedral is a church there.

Other places: Kakejcov, Skomelno, Zbiroh, Podmokly, Veselá, Terešov, Dobriv, Pavlovsko.

For the higher-level travel overview: Okres Rokycany.