Horní Kozolupy: Cycling Routes and History

Several cycling routes pass through Horní Kozolupy, while the town’s history dates back to the 13th century. This gives you two specific points to consider when planning your trip: routes with different courses and historical landmarks that can be placed in their historical context. The routes listed differ both in length and in whether they are circuits or run between different places.

Cycling Routes and Their Courses

The 80-kilometer Kosí potok cycling route passes through Horní Kozolupy. It first runs through the Hadovka valley and then reaches the town. Check the route conditions before setting off. The distance indicates the route’s total length; the section through the valley and the subsequent arrival in Horní Kozolupy describe two specific parts of its course.

A shorter marked route is cycling route 2215, which is 18.3 kilometers long. It runs from Trpísty via Cebiv and Horní Kozolupy to Černošín. There is also the 31.5-kilometer “K vodě dvakrát přes Hadovku” circuit, which passes through Strahov, Horní Kozolupy, and Slavice. The routes can be distinguished by their stated distances and their form: route 2215 is described as a sequence of several places from Trpísty to Černošín, while the longer route is explicitly a circuit.

Local History and the Former Parish Church

The first mention of Horní Kozolupy dates to 1237 and is associated with the local nobleman Šuchta of Kozolupy. The town later came under the rule of the Lords of Gutštejn. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Horní Kozolupy was attached to nearby Cebiv; it subsequently became a permanent part of the Bezdružice estate. These developments provide an overview of the town’s changing historical affiliations without equating them with its present-day municipal affiliation.

The history of the former Gothic parish church of Saints Peter and Paul also goes back a long way: it is documented from the 14th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was the only parish church on the Cebiv estate and served as a burial place for the estate’s noble owners. After two fires in 1947, the church was demolished in 1950; it has not survived as a standing building. Its significance therefore lies in the history of the town and the estate, not in a church building that still exists today.

Historical Landmarks in Slavice

The Church of St. Lawrence in Slavice is documented from the second half of the 14th century. The present church building dates from 1767. Also in Slavice, beneath the lime trees along the road to Horní Kozolupy, stands a chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows dating from 1822. These two buildings represent different periods in local architectural history: the church combines an early historical reference with a later present-day building, while the chapel is dated to the 19th century by its year of construction.

No remains of the Slavice fortress survive: they disappeared around 1820 during the rebuilding of the chateau and the construction of a new farmyard. This historical detail complements the surviving churches and chapel with another trace of the past, whose structural remains had already been lost by the early 19th century.

The Surrounding Landscape

The Úterský potok Nature Park lies near Horní Kozolupy. At the settlement of “U silnice,” about two kilometers west of Horní Kozolupy, there are two protected lime trees.

Discover more destinations: Písařova Vesce, Sytno, Přimda, Prostiboř, Kokašice, Hošťka, Kříženec, Lom U Tachova.

For the broader travel overview: Tachov District.