Úmyslovice: Village Green, Church and Historic Landscape

Úmyslovice is shaped by a spacious village green: the buildings are clustered around an orchard, with the church at its centre. At the same time, the church building, memorial sites, a section of the Polská cesta and traces of vanished ponds tell the story of the village and its landscape. These features each give the village centre and local cultural landscape a distinctive character.

Village Green and Village Centre

The village green consists of a spacious orchard, with the church at its centre. The memorial to the victims of the First and Second World Wars is also in the centre of Úmyslovice. A culverted stream runs through the village centre, where a water basin has been created. Together, these features show how the village green, church and other memorial sites come together in the village landscape.

St. Linhart’s Church and Its History

The Neoclassical Church of St. Linhart dates from 1812 and partly incorporates masonry from an older church. The protected complex comprises the church, the enclosing wall, the gate and the associated grounds. A memorial plaque to J. F. Coulon de Thévenot, the inventor of French shorthand, who was buried here, is on the south wall of the nave. Six gravestones from the former cemetery have been preserved. The building’s history and tangible memorials thus stand side by side: the masonry points to an older church, while the plaque and gravestones preserve the memory of individuals and the former cemetery.

The Polská cesta and the Historic Landscape

The Polská cesta near Úmyslovice is part of the more recent so-called northern variant of a long-distance route to Kladsko and onward to Poland. A surviving section described in 2023 runs west from Úmyslovice into the fields and ends after a few dozen metres. Grassy verges and rows of fruit trees line the section. It is considered a rare example of a landscape feature that survived elsewhere only until the 1950s. Its classification as a long-distance route refers to the route as a whole; the section described here is short. The route marking is a separate matter: the 2024 municipal planning document lists no marked hiking or cycling trails in the area. If you expect a marked route for a hike, check the current trail signage before planning.

Traces of Former Ponds

The Blato pond no longer exists. However, hollows in the terrain and banks remain near Úmyslovice as traces of the former pond. Blato was also located within the cadastral area and municipality of Úmyslovice. Another historic pond, Šembor, lay above the village; a second dam bank was opposite the village of Netřebice. The references to Blato and Šembor therefore point to different locations. The water basin on the culverted stream running through the village centre is another distinct landscape feature.

Getting There and Finding a Hotel

The 2024 municipal planning document places a bus stop on the village green in the central part of Úmyslovice. It also lists bus services on the route between Poděbrady, Dymokury and Městec Králové that serve Úmyslovice. Check the current timetable before travelling. Find a hotel in Úmyslovice if the village green, church history and traces of the former cultural landscape are among the themes you would like to explore on your trip.

Discover more destinations: Nymburk, Rožďalovice, Poušť, Křečkov, Zvěřínek, Opočnice, Velenka, Kněžice.

For the wider travel overview: Nymburk District.