Varnsdorf: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Varnsdorf lies at the foot of the Lusatian Mountains in a picturesque valley of the Mandava River. Varnsdorf borders Germany on three sides.

Culture and Townscape

The Church of St Peter and Paul is Varnsdorf’s oldest church. It was completed between 1774 and 1776, and its late Baroque furnishings were completed in 1777. In 1830, the first complete liturgical performance of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis took place in this church. The Church of St Charles Borromeo is known as the “church without a tower” because of the distinctive design of its tower’s upper section. Visits to its interior can be arranged through the deanery office at Náměstí E. Beneše 471.

The so-called Red Church is a protected cultural monument and one of the few surviving North Bohemian churches made of glazed bricks. Its foundation stone was laid in 1904, and it was consecrated the following year. The townscape also features Art Nouveau, Neo-Renaissance, Classicist and Empire-style, and Historicist buildings, including the buildings along Legií Street, the former bank on T. G. Masaryka Street, the school on Střelecká Street, the post office, house no. 512 on Národní Street, and villas on Seifertova and Tyršova streets. Half-timbered Upper Lusatian houses with distinctive stone portals can also be seen.

Hrádek was built in 1904 as a lookout restaurant. The Hrádek lookout tower offers panoramic views of Varnsdorf and the surrounding area, including the Lusatian and Zittau Mountains; in good visibility, the view also extends to the Jizera Mountains and the Krkonoše Mountains. The entire interior of Hrádek Tower houses a permanent exhibition with maps, photographs and other exhibits about Hrádek and its wider surroundings.

The Muzeum Varnsdorf offers educational materials in an engaging format about important and interesting personalities from Varnsdorf as well as the town’s history. The current temporary premises of the Muzeum Varnsdorf are located in the former children’s and music department rooms of Varnsdorf Municipal Library. The Městské divadlo Varnsdorf and the adjacent Galerie D organise numerous exhibitions, concerts and other events every month; the theatre also hosts theatrical performances and music concerts.

Landscape and Bodies of Water

The Mašíňák recreation area is used for individual recreation and swimming; during the season, it is mainly used by anglers as a fishing water. In suitable winter conditions, Mašíňák is used as a natural ice rink; sporting and cultural events are traditionally held there as well. The Varnsdorf area also includes Studánka, with its Pseudo-Romanesque Church of St Francis of Assisi, built in 1872.

Trails and Activities

Špičák is a destination for hikers; an easy forest path leads to a newly built wooden resting pavilion. The 300-metre-long bee nature trail runs around the Gerhus ponds. A 5-kilometre cycling route is intended for family outings with children.

Food and Events

Pivovar Kocour offers brewery tours during which visitors can learn interesting facts about beer production and sample several beers. Pivovar Kocour also includes a brewery zoo where numerous animal species can be seen. Pivovar Kocour also has its own railway stop.

Mandava Jazz is an annual event held in Varnsdorf each autumn.

More pages about localities: Krasne Pole, Růžová, Hřensko, Tetschen-Bodenbach, Mikulášovice, Dolní Poustevna, Dittersbach, Jilove U Decina.

To the higher-level travel overview: Okres Děčín.