Otovice U Broumova: Hotels and Accommodations

Otovice u Broumova combines a cohesive historic townscape with distinctive landscape and geological features. Between Baroque architecture, protected areas along the Stěnava, paleontological outcrops, and signposted cycling and hiking trails, very different facets come together here within a small area.

Culture and Townscape

The Church of St. Barbara in Otovice is a Baroque church built in 1725–1726 based on designs by the Baroque architects Dientzenhofer, father and son. Its oval floor plan is complemented by side chapels that project from the exterior walls.

The built-up area of Otovice consists largely of folk architecture characteristic of this region. Its valuable monuments include the Baroque Umlauf Mill: the single-storey, masonry late-Baroque water mill from the 1770s stands next to a millrace that has since been filled in, and the portal of the Umlauf Water Mill bears the monogram AB and the year 1776. Otovice is also home to a Marian column dating from 1639.

The ensemble featuring the Column of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, along with statues of saints and angels, is an unusual sculptural work from the second half of the 19th century. On 17 October 2014, it was declared a cultural monument by the Ministry of Culture. The war memorial in Otovice dates from 1926 and originally commemorated 30 local men who had fallen on the fronts of the First World War; it bears the dedication “Obětem válek”.

Nature and Geology

U zastávky is a small protected area on the Stěnava in Otovice and one of two small protected areas along this river; both areas are located in the first zone of the Protected Landscape Area.

The rocks in the cadastral area of Otovice u Broumova also reach far back in time: Ve strži is a paleontological Permian site. U školy is a site containing plant fossils in the dark limestones of the Olivětín Beds.

The Hoprich outcrops extend from the footbridge below the church to the bridge near the school in Otovice. Hoprich is a paleontologically interesting Permian outcrop in the valley of the Stěnava. Its layers contain fossil imprints of Walchia conifers and ferns, as well as occasional fossil remains of ray-finned fish.

Paths and Routes

Road II/302 connects the border crossing with Otovice, Broumov, and Meziměstí. Train service to Otovice was discontinued on 11 December 2005. The shelter at the bus stop contains an information board about cycle route 4020 Stolové hory.

For cycling, the blue-marked 4020 Stolové hory route is designated, with a length of 126 km. The also blue-marked 4002 Javoří hory cycle route is 36 km long and connects to cycle route 4020 in Otovice. The connecting path between Šonov and Otovice offers valuable scenic views.

A blue-marked hiking trail leads from the railway station in Otovice to Božanov and onward to the Broumovské stěny.

Other Places

Žďár Nad Metují, Nové Mesto Nad Metují, Velichovky, Vernerovice, Náchod, Weckelsdorf, Vysoká Srbská, Hronov

To the higher-level travel overview: Náchod District.