Polná: Holiday apartments and holiday homes

Polná combines a multifaceted castle and château complex with circular trails leading to ponds, Jewish history and regional baking traditions. Polná Castle and Château stand on a rocky spur above Peklo Pond. The complex comprises the inner castle, the buildings of the outer bailey, two courtyards, the zwinger and the site of a former garden.

Culture and history

Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements characterize the castle and château. Surviving details include a Gothic battlement walk with a bastion, Late Gothic vaults and remnants of Renaissance paintings in the Kunštátský Hall. Including their exhibitions and sightseeing routes, the castle and château are fully open to the public from April until the end of October.

The synagogue is also part of Polná's historical heritage. It is used by the Regional Jewish Museum for exhibitions on the history of Jews in Polná and the Hilsneriade. A 45-minute guided tour is available at the Stará škola. It presents a classroom from 1866, a collection of teaching aids featuring a two-headed calf, a preserved black kitchen and the teachers' apartment.

Trails and ponds

The Josefa Klementa educational trail is a 6.2-kilometre circular route through Polná's historic centre and Jewish quarter, extending into the countryside around Peklo Pond. It follows paved paths and forest trails with moderate inclines, is classified as easy and starts and ends at Husovo náměstí.

The Pojmannova Trail is a 6.5-kilometre circular route from Polná to Kukle Pond and back; it is marked with a yellow hiking sign. It passes Borský Pond, the former Štohanzlův Mill, Kukle Pond and the Obecní les municipal forest. Rest areas are available at Doubravník above the Borský Valley and on the dam of Kukle Pond.

Peklo Pond is the largest pond in the Polensko area, more than 1 km long and connected to a recreational and sports area. Another historic route is Klešter, a national cultural monument: a deeply cut sunken lane of an old trade route that connected Bohemia and Moravia and where tolls were collected.

Local traditions

Polná hosts the recurring culinary event Mrkvancobraní. It includes a competition for the best Mrkvánek; at the same time, the event is intended to promote the preservation of the local baking tradition.

Other places: Jersín, Zadní Vydří, Střítež, Kostelec, Záborná, Větrný Jeníkov, Vysoké Studnice, Ždírec

To the higher-level travel overview: Jihlava District.