Skorkov: Church, Jizera and Cycle Route 17

Skorkov brings together a historic church complex, the Jizera and a landscape shaped by forests. This offers different points of focus when planning a stay: you can explore the town’s history, learn about Cycle Route 17 or consider seasonal activities by the river and in the forest. This makes it easier to choose a destination based on whether architectural history, cycling or the riverside landscape is your main interest.

Church complex and architectural history

The Church of St John the Baptist was first mentioned in 1359 and was badly damaged during the Thirty Years’ War. A bell tower was added to the church in 1698. During a renovation in 1873, the tower acquired its present appearance. The building’s history therefore comprises several distinct stages: the church’s first recorded mention, damage sustained during the war, and the tower’s later extension and redesign. Anyone interested in historic buildings will find specific dates here that help trace how the complex changed over several centuries.

The church complex is enclosed by a stone wall. Outside the cemetery, a stone cross stands south of the bell tower. A charnel house from the former cemetery has also been preserved next to the church. It contains a Renaissance-style carved altar of the Virgin Mary. A legible inscription has also been preserved there: “1666 Susanna Maria Countess of Luestein”. The wall, cross and charnel house add specific features of the church grounds to the architectural history; the altar and inscription give the charnel house its own historical and art-historical significance.

The Jizera, forests and landscape

Alongside the church complex, the riverside landscape is part of Skorkov’s character. The Jizera and its riverside vegetation are among the town’s landscape assets. A wooded hillside of landscape significance is another feature; part of it is protected as VKP Lipka. Three quarters of Skorkov’s cadastral area is forested. Together, these details describe different aspects of the landscape: the river corridor and its vegetation, a distinctive hillside and the large proportion of forest. For travellers interested in nature and landscapes, this offers a different perspective from the town’s architectural history.

Cycling and seasonal activities

Cycle Route No. 17 connects Skorkov with the neighbouring municipalities and is also known as the Greenway Jizera. This route linking several municipalities is a concrete option if you choose cycling as the focus of your trip. The Jizera offers another seasonal activity: swimming is possible near Skorkov in summer, although conditions may vary. The main difference in planning is that the cycle route continues beyond Skorkov, while swimming is a summer activity.

Mushroom picking is another seasonal activity in the area. The forests along the Jizera and other nearby forests are used for this purpose. When choosing when to travel, you can therefore take different interests into account: a summer stay by the river or a visit during the season when people go mushroom picking in the forests.

Facilities for water tourism are planned in Skorkov, particularly for safely navigating the Jizera water route by canoe, kayak and similar sports boats. If you plan to include such a trip in your itinerary, check current access arrangements in advance.

Choosing a hotel to suit your trip

When looking for a hotel in Skorkov, you can first decide whether local history, cycling or the riverside and forest landscape is most important to your stay. Then compare specific hotels based on their individual details to find one that suits your travel plans.

Discover more destinations: Rokytá, Petkovy, Chotětov, Obrubce, Jabkenice, Ctiměřice, Sezemice U Mnichova Hradiště, Chudíř

Go to the regional travel overview: Okres Mladá Boleslav.