Zásmuky: Castle, Churches and Cycling Routes

Zásmuky combines cultural and historical attractions with cycling and educational trails that start in the town. This gives you two clear options for your stay: explore the architectural history of the castle and churches, or choose a route of a suitable length and through the landscape you prefer. The following places and routes offer practical starting points for planning your visit.

Getting There and Finding Your Way

Zásmuky is accessible by bus from Kolín, Kutná Hora and Prague. These include PID route 381 from Skalka. As route details may change, check the route before travelling.

Castle, Exhibition and Town History

The castle complex is in the town centre. It includes a surviving farmyard and is connected in the urban layout to the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the rectory. Visitors can enter the castle grounds through the gate and explore the courtyard and castle park.

The cultural and exhibition hall is located in the castle complex on Komenského Square. Its gallery is housed in a 17th-century Baroque hall in the forecourt. The permanent historical exhibition traces the development of Zásmuky: from a medieval fortress and a Romanesque church to a village under feudal rule, a castle and a monastery, and finally a town. It offers a way to explore the town’s history through several successive stages.

Churches and Memorial Sites

The present-day Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built in 1900–1903 in a pseudo-historicist style, to plans by the builder J. Krcha. The complex also includes a Baroque sandstone statue of the Virgin Mary dating from around 1700. The dates point to different periods of construction and art at this site.

Construction of the Franciscan monastery began in 1691 and was completed in 1694. The Church of St. Francis Seraphicus is a simple Baroque building without a tower. The Franciscan monastery and monastery church are not usually open to the public; concerts are held there several times a year. If you would like to attend a concert, check the dates in advance. The Zásmuky Porcinkule, a traditional pilgrimage, is also associated with the Franciscan church.

A house with a commemorative plaque on Polákova Street marks the birthplace of the poet Milota Zdirad Polák. An old lime-tree avenue leads from Zásmuky to the Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The Neo-Gothic cemetery chapel dates from the 1860s and has a Baroque core dating to 1681.

Cycling and Walking Routes

The Vavřinecká dvacítka cycling route is 22 km long and starts and ends in Zásmuky. It runs along footpaths, forest tracks and paved roads: first through a valley, then downhill from higher ground in the second half. The Zásmuky–Trasa 2 route also starts and ends in Zásmuky, but at 56 km it is considerably longer. If route length is a deciding factor, these are two clearly distinct cycling options.

The Zásmuky–Kouřim educational trail is an easy 9 km route from Komenského Square along a stream. A listed Baroque bridge is located at Vlčí důl. For a short, easy outing, the “Baroque Bridges and Rock Formations” route starts in Zásmuky’s square. The “Pokorného Secession Facades” route starts at Komenského Square. Above a memorial to the victims of the First World War at the Old School on this square is the town coat of arms.

Trails and Landscape

The Zámecká obora woodland park stretches north of the castle building and can be accessed via several paths, as well as the yellow-marked Zásmuky–Toušice hiking trail. In the game park, a tunnel at the edge of its lower section allows red deer to move between the two parts. The combination of trails and this distinctive landscape feature gives the area around the castle its own appeal alongside the town’s buildings.

Discover more destinations: Kbel, Dolní Chvatliny, Tatce, Krakovany, Žiželice, Velký Osek, Jestřabí Lhota, Nova Ves I

Return to the main travel overview: Okres Kolín.