A mountain hut will start serving in Čerchov

Čerchov (Domažlice) September 23 - Domažlice has completed the reconstruction of a former military facility on the Čerchov hill in the Český les region into a mountain chalet. It will open to the public for the first time on the Day of the Český les region on Saturday, October 4. The reconstruction of the former military company cost 24 million crowns, including equipment. The municipal facility has accommodation for about 30 people, a restaurant for 60 people inside and the same number outside, and a common room. There is limited car access to Čerchov, so there will be facilities for pedestrians, Mayor Stanislav Antoš told for Czech Press agency. The chalet is intended to serve mainly tourists, cyclists, and cross-country skiers.

The reconstruction of the two-story building was preceded by the demolition of most of the old military buildings in 2021, which posed an environmental burden because they were lined with asbestos-cement boards. "In Čerchov there is also a military tower, a transformer station, a transmitter, the Kurz Tower of the Czech Tourist Club and a private building where there was refreshments," said Antoš. The mountain hut will be managed by the Domažlice City Forests, which has already selected a tenant. He is a local gastronomy entrepreneur who runs a restaurant in the Domažlice City Brewery, for example. "The hut will be open according to the bus schedule, sometimes from mid-May until mid-October, then on national holidays in our country and in Bavaria and out of season according to interest, more on weekends. But it can be rented for a week, for example," he said.

"It will be the conclusion of the entire year of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Český les Protected Landscape Area (PLA) and at the same time the conclusion of a long-term activity, when we, together with our partners - the city of Domažlice, the Czech Tourists' Club, the town of Klenčí and the Ministry of Defense, have been discussing, sometimes since 2009, the vision of the future of Čerchov," said the director of the PLA Tomáš Peckert. The result will be the opening of a new tourist shelter in Čerchov with a capacity for one bus, which will also have an information center in addition to a restaurant.

"At the same time, we will celebrate the 120th anniversary of the brick Kurz Tower, a 24-meter-high lookout tower. A full-day program is prepared," said Lenka Křížková, director of the Český les Destination Company. According to Křížková, the soldiers are taking care of only one building in Čerchov - an inaccessible concrete 30-meter tower. "The local lookout tower, Kurz Tower, is the most visited tourist destination in the area today," she said.

The event starts at 12:00. "There will be a large parking lot in Capartice. We believe that the majority of visitors will walk to the summit. Bus service is being strengthened. Weekend cycle buses will be supplemented by special connections," said Peckert. The special train will leave Pilsen at 08:20, arrive in Domažlice at 09:25 and in Česká Kubice at 09:30. "From here, tourists will walk with a guide along the Han trail, one of the most beautiful in the Bohemian Forest," said Kamila Beňušíková Angelovová from KČT Domažlice. Another seven marked routes from the Czech Republic and Germany to Čerchov, which is the highest peak in the Bohemian Forest with an altitude of 1042 meters, is in the Čerchov Pass. The smallest elevation is from the German Gibacht. "The second shortest route is from Pec pod Čerchovem, where the recently repaired Emmerich well is located. The beautiful Vrbatova cesta with wells and the mountain Bystřice river leads from Babylon," she said. According to Křížková, cyclists can reach Čerchov via border cycle paths or along CT3, which leads from Prague via Pilsen and Domažlice to Řezen.

Czech press agency

WT.24

Photo: www.domazlicke-lesy.cz