Broumov Walls

The Broumovske steny are a long asymmetric sandstone ridge running some twelve kilometres between Broumov and Police nad Metuji, steep on the eastern side and gently sloping on the west, with the crest broken into towers, blocks and deep clefts. The rock cities along it - Kovarova rokle, the Blacksmith's ravine, among them - are entered through narrow passages and stairs, and there are viewpoints along the eastern edge looking over the Broumov basin to the Polish border. On the ridge stands the chapel of the Virgin of the Snows, built in 1732 to a design from the Dientzenhofer circle, set among the rocks with sandstone blocks pressing against the walls. The Broumov region below holds a group of baroque village churches built by the same architects for the Benedictine abbey, one of the most coherent baroque church groups in Central Europe. The ridge is a national nature reserve.

What you actually see

• A twelve-kilometre ridge - steep east, gentle west, with the crest broken into towers.
• Rock cities in clefts - narrow passages and stairs through the blocks.
• A 1732 chapel among rocks - the Virgin of the Snows, wedged into the ridge.
• Viewpoints east - over the Broumov basin to the Polish frontier.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Passages are narrow and stepped, and slippery when wet. The ridge is long - plan the route and transport at both ends. The chapel opens irregularly. Ticks are bad in the woods below.

Nearby

Adrspach-Teplice rocks are west; Broumov abbey is below.