Route: Nový Jičín, Laudon House - Kunín, chateau - Šenov u Nový Jičína, Bannerova studánka - Nový Jičín, Laudon House

Route length: 16.7 km

Difficulty: easy

Walking time: approx. 4 hours

Distances.

Recommendation. It starts at the Laudon House on the square in Nový Jičín, continues through the town centre towards Šenov u Nový Jičín, along the Jičínky River to the castle in Kunín. The return route offers a turn to the Banner's Well in Šenov u Nové Jičín and brings tourists back to the town centre. There are numerous refreshment options along the route, and its accompanying facilities make it ideal for families with small children. The route or part of it can also be completed by regular bus transport between Nový Jičín and Kunín.

The Church of St. Martin in Šenov near Nový Jičín, Kunín Chateau, Banner's Well. From the Salaš hill you have a beautiful view of the Beskydy Mountains and the whole town of Nový Jičín.

1. Laudon House

In 1790 a large army gathered in the vicinity of Nový Jičín, with which Marshal Ernst Gideon von Laudon was to try to reconquer the lost Silesia for Austria. However, during a military inspection of the fortifications at the end of June he fell ill and had to be taken to Nový Jičín and laid down. He died there on 14 July. In 1800, a music and dance hall was built on the floor of Laudon's death house - allegedly the second largest in Moravia, after Brno. The house was turned into an inn in the early 19th century. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Laudon's death, a commemorative plaque and a bust of the commander were unveiled on the front of the house.

2. Žerotín Chateau

Through the gate from 28 October Street, which once bore the name of Marshal Laudon, we enter the grounds of the former Terezian Chateau. At one time it was the administrative centre of the whole Nový Jičín-Stramberg estate, the seat of officials, but parts of it have also been turned into a military infirmary and the castle garden in the nearby Green Ditch into an army cemetery. After the Battle of Austerlitz, the castle was the headquarters of all imperial field hospitals in Moravia.

In December 1925, the castle and its land became part of the Foundation of Emperor Ferdinand II for the education of children of nobility on behalf of the Ministry of Education and National Enlightenment. The castle now houses the Museum of the Novojičín Region. It introduces visitors to the rich history of the town and also holds regular exhibitions.

3. Town Hall

The building has served its present purpose since 1593. At the beginning of the 19th century, the main military guardhouse, which until then was located in the middle of the square, was moved here. The military garrisons kept their watch here and added to the colour of the small rural town by changing regularly.

4. The House at the Green Tree

One of the oldest inns in the town was bought by the municipality in 1721 to accommodate soldiers. In 1787, the Emperor Joseph II himself stayed here when he travelled to Russia to visit Tsarina Catherine II to agree on a joint action against the Turks. In this war, the star of Marshal Loudon shone, who captured the fortress of Kalemegdan in Belgrade in 1789. The Green Tree Inn was later renamed the Emperor Joseph II. In 1902, a bronze statue of the emperor was even unveiled in the square.

5. The Old Post Office

It is one of the most remarkable houses in the city. It was built in 1563 in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Since 1787 it has been the seat of a hereditary post office, and the house has been visited by many celebrities, including the Russian Tsar Alexander I and, in 1800, Laudon's comrade in arms in the Turkish wars, the legendary Marshal Suvorov.

6. Lower gate

A three-storey high lower gate stood on this site until 1842. Its towers were demolished by the Swedes in 1643, and it was already used as a residential building under Marshal Laudon. Johann Nepomuk Preisenhammer, one of the first souk manufacturers in Nový Jičín, was born in the tower. The building was therefore called the Preisenhammer Tower.

7. Banner's well in Šenov u Nové Jičín

We climb up to the Banner's Well with a spring of healing water, which according to tradition was also very tasty for Marshal Loudon when he stayed in nearby Nový Jičín. The name of the well is derived from another legendary warrior, the Swedish general Banner. The view from the hill, once called Vojenský and later renamed Salaš, is spectacular. You can see the whole landscape from Hukvaldy Castle to Lysá Hora, and of course the whole town of Nový Jičín.

8. St. Martin's Church in Šenov u Nový Jičín

It was probably built at the turn of the 13th and 14th century, so it is one of the oldest churches in the Nový Jičín region. The original Gothic form has been preserved, especially the four-storey prismatic tower and the sacristy. Since 1630, St. Martin's Church has been permanently under Catholic administration. In the crypt, located in the central part of the presbytery below the church, are buried the legendary Kunín castle steward Leopold Bernard Dittrich (1687-1754) and the two young children of the Kunín Countess Maria Walburga of Truchsess-Waldburg-Zeil (1762-1828).

9. Kunín Castle

It is the only castle in the Czech lands that is the work of the famous builder Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. During Marshal Loudon's stay in Nový Jičín, the most famous owner of the castle, the good Countess Walburga, lived there. Two years after the commander's death, she founded one of the best schools in Austria, which also educated the future Father of the Nation František Palacký. The chateau is open to the public, and in the historically furnished rooms you can see, for example, portrait paintings of officers of the Harrach Infantry Regiment and a painting of the regiment's owner Xavier Harrach, an imperial general, contemporary of Marshal Loudon and father of Countess Walburga.