Ruda U Nového Strašecí: Nature and Baroque

When planning a stay in Ruda U Nového Strašecí, you can choose between natural landscapes and architectural history as distinct areas of interest. They include the Údolí Klíčavy Nature Reserve, the Baroque Chapel of the Guardian Angels, the historic Amálie farmstead and traces of a former railway. You can focus your interests on protected habitats, a designed cultural landscape or individual historic buildings.

Nature along the Klíčava

The Údolí Klíčavy Nature Reserve protects well-preserved floodplain meadows, woodland and the course of the Klíčava stream. The part of the reserve near Ruda is home to a high concentration of specially protected plant and animal species. The registered Klíčava floodplain near Ruda includes a wet meadow and marsh vegetation. If you are interested in nature, you can take the protected habitats and specially protected species into account when choosing what to see during your stay.

Baroque cultural landscape and Amálie Farm

The Chapel of the Guardian Angels is a valuable Baroque chapel dating from 1749. Amálie Farm was established around 1820, making the chapel and farm two distinct points of reference in the history of the area’s architecture. Another aspect is the Baroque-designed landscape around Amálie Farm. The estate includes a regular network of paths, signposts at intersections and chapels at their centers; avenues are often added. Compositional axes link the separate foresters’ lodges with the Amálie, Doupno, Požáry and Karlov farmsteads. The signposts and chapels mark intersections, while the compositional axes connect the foresters’ lodges and farmsteads. This gives an idea of how individual elements are incorporated into the Baroque design. To match your interests, consider a clear comparison: the chapel showcases a single Baroque building, while the landscape is about spatial composition.

The protected Amálie agricultural farmstead in Ruda is distinguished by a monumental granary as its dominant feature. The protected ensemble includes a manor house and two granaries, a building with cattle stalls and living quarters, and a building with a horse stable, ox stall and living quarters. It also includes a barn with a gate, connecting boundary walls, boundary walls with gates, and the enclosed grounds of the estate. To understand its architecture, it is worth looking at the farmstead as a whole: the granary dominates, but is part of a farmstead with a variety of residential, stable and agricultural buildings.

Following historic traces

The remains of the former “pražsko-lánská koněspřežná dráha” extend for about 2.5 kilometers along the route behind Ruda toward Brejl. The “Po stopách pražsko-lánské koněspřežné dráhy” excursion can be done by bike. The approximately 2.5 kilometers refers to the remains, while bicycle use applies to the named excursion. In 2024, a marked KČT green hiking route was listed for Ruda; check the current trail markings before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Sýkořice, Pšovlky, Velká Chmelištná, Svinařov, Milý, Všesulov, Velká Buková, Příčina

For the broader travel overview: Rakovník District.