Trip to Holštejn Castle and Hladomorna Cave

Trip to the ruins of Holštejn Castle in the Moravian Karst

Starting point

The starting point for the trip was the village of Ostrov u Macochy. We left the car in the parking lot of the pub. Parking is free.
 

Description of the hike

A red hiking trail leads from Ostrov u Macocha to Holštejn Castle. The first part of the trail leads along a wide dirt road, from which there are nice views of the surrounding countryside. At the end, the path drops down to the road. We crossed it and continued along the path in the forest. Here are also the first caves along the way. The most interesting is probably Nová Rasovna, which is a sinkhole of the White Water river. From the river it is only a short distance to the ruins of Holštejn Castle, but it is necessary to climb steeply up to it. The stairs also help to do this. The ruins are not secured in any way, so especially on the edge of the rocks you have to be very careful. After the tour of the ruins we descended the rock wall. Here is the next destination of our trip, the Hladomorna cave. It is freely accessible. However, some light is required to explore the cave. We were lucky and came across a resting bat as well. From the cave we went to the nearby village of Holštejn, where there is a pub and we had lunch there.

We took a slightly different route back. First, we walked a little way down the road. Soon we entered the forest and followed the forest path to the former quarry of the Great Agreement. Here many attractions have been built, such as a ferrata or a rope centre. From the quarry, we continued along wide paths that eventually led us back to the Island of Macocha.
 

Difficulty

A pleasant trip in easy terrain. The route leads along wide roads or forest trails. Only the ascent to Holštejn Castle from the Bílá voda river is more difficult. There are also stairs to make the ascent easier. Otherwise, there is no difficult part of the route. The trip is ideal for families or with dogs.
 

Water availability

We didn't come across any springs along the way, but there is a pub in the village of Holštejn, or a grocery store open during the week. We had some water with us.
 

Mountain peaks

The route does not lead over any peak. Partial views are offered by the path from Ostrov u Macocha and the view from the ruins of Holštejn Castle.
 

Danger

The trail itself is very simple and safe. The only problematic place, especially for children, is the ruins of Holštejn Castle. It was built on a high rock. However, there are no railings and you have to be careful at the edge of the rock. The exploration of the Hladomorna cave is without problems, it is just damp and slippery.
 

Food

We had some snacks to go. We had lunch in a pub in the village of Holštejn. There is also a pub in the village of Ostrov u Mocochy.
 

Attractions

Holštejn Castle was founded in 1268 by Harman, son of the Moravian lord Crha of Ceblovice. It was built on a high rock spur in the Moravian Karst. At the end of the 14th century their family died out and the castle was acquired by Vok and founded by the Lords of Holštejn. The castle was bought from the Vok family in the middle of the 15th century by Hynek of Wallenstein and Židlochovice. The castle changed hands several more times until it gradually began to decay. Since the middle of the 16th century the castle has been described as deserted. 

There is a cave under the castle, whose name is Hladomorna. It was indeed used as a prison in the Middle Ages, the entrance to the cave was walled up. The towers were lowered into the cave through a hole in the ceiling directly from the castle. During the exploration of the cave, many human remains were found. The entrance to the cave was boarded up until 2011, when it was reopened to the public. Rare bats - the big bat and the big-eared bat - hibernate in the cave.