Boulders at Žihle

After a few meters you will be greeted by a stone carved inscription, The Road by Mrs. Růžena Slavíková - Mattušová. If you need to relax, there is also the first of several benches that will provide you with comfort on your way through the kingdom of boulders, but at the same time disturb the atmosphere of the place a bit.

After a short climb, you can see the downhill run for MTB bikes and then the first boulders will start to appear among the trees. On an area of ​​0.5 ha you can admire differently sized spherical or loaf-shaped formations. These "crumbs" were brought here by a glacier and were formed by the disintegration and weathering of granite. Their diameters are in the order of meters and the largest are also named. The first baptized boulder can be found right at the beginning of the natural lapidary. It was named Dědek and boasts a diameter of 12 meters. Another giant is called Baba and is of equally impressive dimensions. The tourist sign will take you among many other round boulders to the rock town. If you engage your imagination, you will see, instead of a stone, a dolphin's head emerging and other fantastic shapes. The rock city is dominated by a huge viklan denying the laws of physics. Along the way, you will certainly notice even more angular shapes. They are the remains of mining activities. However, since 1933, the area has been protected and the largest formations have been declared natural monuments.

The oldest surviving records of the area are from 1238, when Wenceslas I donated Žihli to the monastery in Plasy. At present, the stones near Žihle are a popular place not only for tourists, but also for psychotronics and other experts in mysterious and energetically interesting places. In the end, there are more such places in the area. One of them is, for example, Rabštejn nad Střelou or the nearby Vladař hill. There are also nature trails and a rope center nearby. And if you are lucky and have a good look, you can also see muskrats while traveling in the Žihelská pahorkatina.

If you are interested in Pilsen and the surroundings of Žihle, start, for example, in the book Mysterious Places of Pilsen, or see how it looks in the Pilsen landscape in the film The Road from the City. If you take your trip from the city behind the Žihelské boulders by car, you can park it in a small parking lot at the end of the village, just above the route of yellow markings.

Author: Ivana Dondová