Neratov: Discover ponds, water engineering and trails

If you’re looking for a hotel in Neratov, the type of excursions you’re planning can help determine your choice of destination. There is a bell tower in the town centre; other points of interest include an educational trail about the Pernštejn ponds, the history of the Opatovický Canal and an additional cipher game. These experiences vary in length and subject matter. As you plan, consider whether you’d prefer to explore fish farming and water engineering, take a circular route or focus on a boat trip.

Bell tower and educational trail route

There is a bell tower in the centre of Neratov. The Pernštejn Ponds educational trail is laid out as a circular route of about 9 km. Most of it runs along unpaved paths; the described trail surface also includes about 200 m of woodland path and 1.5 km of road. So when planning, the total distance isn’t the only factor to consider; the distribution of the different sections matters too. This allows you to assess the route using specific details about its length and surface.

Ponds and historic water management

The educational trail passes ponds dating from the 15th and 20th centuries and follows their dams. It explains how sophisticated water-engineering structures served fish farmers over the centuries. This means that a single circular route features both ponds built centuries apart and the long-standing use of water-engineering techniques. If you’re interested in the history of fish farming, you can explore both together: the ponds and the dams the trail follows. Their different construction dates provide a timeline, while the explanation of how the water-engineering structures functioned addresses the facilities’ economic purpose.

Opatovický Canal: construction history and boat trip

The Opatovický Canal was built from 1498 to 1521 to supply the network of fishponds originally created by Vilém z Pernštejna. Its construction history is therefore directly linked to its purpose of supplying water to this network. The canal is 32.69 km long. A leisurely day-long trip is possible along it at a speed of no more than 5 km/h. For water tourism, it is classified as ZWB; the canal is also used for fishing in non-trout waters. Boating and fishing are two different ways to use the same canal. The stated day-long duration makes the boat trip a different time commitment from a shorter trail experience.

Landscape connections and cipher game

The Bohdanečská Alej k Neratovu is an important landscape feature (VKP) and is historically and locally connected to the Opatovický Canal. This connection encompasses both the landscape and the canal’s history. Its designation as an important landscape feature offers a different perspective on the surroundings from the canal’s use for boating and fishing.

An additional experience is the Sumec na suchu cipher game about fish, ponds and fish farming. On 6 September 2023, Czech Radio described a game route of less than four kilometres, which takes about two hours. If you’d like to make the game a definite part of your plans, confirm its current availability locally in advance.

Plan excursions around your schedule

The route options offer different planning guidelines: the game route is estimated to take about two hours, while a day-long trip is possible along the Opatovický Canal. The educational trail, meanwhile, is described as a circular route of about 9 km and includes unpaved paths, a woodland path and a road. This lets you choose between a shorter game route, a trail with varying surfaces and a day-long boat trip. If you’re then looking for a hotel in Neratov, you can focus your search on the type of stay you have in mind.

Discover more destinations: Kojice, Horní Jelení, Úhřetická Lhota, Uhersko, Valy, Staré Ždánice, Starý Mateřov, Dolní Roveň

For the broader travel overview: Pardubice District.