Dvůr Králové nad Labem

Zvičina is the highest hill in the 17km-long mountain ridge. It’s 300 m higher than Dvůr Králové nad Labem, and 330 m higher than Miletínská Kotlina [Miletín Basin]. Thanks to its height of 671 m, it offers beautiful views of the countryside. From the highest mountain in Podkrkonoší, you will see Ještěd, the Jizera mountains, the whole Krkonoše mountain range, and the Vraní [Crow], Stolové [Table] and Orlické [Eagle] mountains as if they were in the palm of your hand. In the winter it’s a ski centre. It offers the option of paragliding. 

Zvičina used to be the focal point for meetings and pilgrimages; today it is one of the most visited locations for trips in the Dvůr Králové region.  Its peak, with a small church founded in the year 1584 (wooden building) and renovated in the years 1706-1711, as well as the tourist Rais’ Cottage, are easily accessible by paths from Bílá Třemešná, Mezihoří, Třebihošť, Chroustov and Horní Brusnice. Karel Jaromír Erben, Karel Václav Rais, Jaroslav Vrchlický, Václav Štech, and Ignát Hermann all visited Zvičina; Karel Hynek Mácha also stopped here.

The Zvičina peak is an outstanding place for skiing and paragliding. In the past, the first glider airport was located here.

Along the way from the Zvičina peak to Lázně pod Zvičinou [Baths at the Foot of Zvičina] you can find Masaryk’s Well, ceremonially unveiled in October 1923. The well includes a fairytale dragon, which was carved from Hořice sandstone in the School of Stonework and Sculpture in Hořice, and which guards a clean water spring among the rocks.