Svatos Rocks

Svatosske skaly stand along the right bank of the Ohre a few kilometres downstream of Karlovy Vary: granite towers and pillars up to about fifty metres high, weathered out along joints in the rock and separated into columns, forming a wall above the river. They are a national nature monument and a well-used climbing area with a couple of hundred routes. The legend attached to them, recorded since the eighteenth century and retold by Goethe, who visited, says that a young man named Jan Svatos promised himself to a water nymph, went through with a wedding to a human bride instead, and the nymph turned the entire wedding party to stone; the individual pillars carry names accordingly - the Bride, the Groom, the Priest, the Musicians, the Witnesses. The riverside path from Karlovy Vary is level and about an hour on foot, and boats run in summer.

Highlights

• Granite pillars to fifty metres - weathered out along joints above the river.
• Named formations - Bride, Groom, Priest and Musicians from the legend.
• A climbing area - a couple of hundred routes on the towers.
• A level riverside path - about an hour on foot from Karlovy Vary.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Practical notes

The path is popular with cyclists and busy at weekends. Boats are seasonal. The rocks are viewed from below unless you climb. There is a restaurant at the base and little else.

Nearby

Karlovy Vary and its colonnades are five kilometres upstream.

Key facts