Polná: Hotels and Accommodation

Polná combines a multifaceted urban history with paths through forests, historic districts, and the landscape around the water. The castle and chateau complex above Peklo Pond is a defining feature.

History and Culture

Polná Castle and Chateau are situated on a rocky promontory above Peklo Pond. The complex includes the inner castle, the buildings of the outer bailey, two courtyards, the zwinger, and the site of a former garden. Its architecture preserves Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque elements, including a Gothic defensive walkway with a bastion, as well as Late Gothic vaults and remnants of Renaissance paintings in the Kunštátský Hall.

Including its exhibitions and sightseeing routes, the castle and chateau complex is fully open to the public from April to the end of October. In the synagogue, the Regional Jewish Museum presents exhibitions on the history of Jews in Polná and the Hilsner Affair. Stará škola can be visited as part of a 45-minute guided tour; on display are an 1866 classroom, a collection of teaching aids featuring a two-headed calf, a preserved Black Kitchen, and the teachers' apartment.

Klešter is a national cultural monument: a deeply incised hollow way of an old trade route that connected Bohemia and Moravia and where tolls were collected.

Paths and Bodies of Water

The Josefa Klementa educational trail is a circular route through Polná's historic center and Jewish quarter into the countryside around Peklo Pond. The 6.2-kilometer trail has a low level of difficulty, runs along paved paths and forest trails with moderate inclines, and starts and ends at Husovo náměstí.

The 6.5-kilometer Pojmannova Trail runs as a circular route from Polná to Kukle Pond and back and is marked with a yellow hiking sign. Along the way, 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 complex.

Local Tradition

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

More Local Pages

More local pages: Jihlava, Hodice, Dolni Smrcne, Pavlov, Hojkov, Smrčná, Horní Myslová, Luka Nad Jihlavou.

For the higher-level travel overview: Jihlava District.