Polanka Between Nature and History

Polanka lies on a rise in the Kakov forest; a large part of its cadastral area belongs to the Plánický hřeben-Kákov Nature Park. The elevated position describes the immediate location of the village, while its inclusion in the nature park covers a larger geographical area. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in Polanka, you can plan around whether nature, a specific route or local history is your main focus.

Landscape and Nature

The Polánecký mokřad Nature Reserve is located in the area of Polanka. It contains marshy and wet meadows with several specially protected and rare plant species. The area was first protected on 17 April 2000.

The protected features of the V Houlištích Natural Monument include a flower-rich beech forest and an alder forest where wild garlic grows. This encompasses different habitats: wet meadows with rare plants on the one hand, and beech and alder forest with wild garlic on the other.

Routes Through Polanka

Cycle Route 2162 runs from Myslív through Polanka and continues to Lovčice along a Class III road. The Stehlíkova naučná stezka educational trail is twelve kilometres long and suitable for both hikers and cyclists. It starts and ends in the centre of Myslív and runs through Polanka towards Pohoří. It is dedicated to the poet Ladislav Stehlík.

The descriptions answer different planning questions: the cycle route specifies a connection between places and the road it follows, while the educational trail gives its length, start and end points, and the activities it is suitable for. This makes it possible to distinguish a connection between places from an educational trail with a specified length and two stated types of use.

Local History and Character

The first written mention of Polanka dates from 1381 and appears in the first book of the Court of Land Tables. The Polánecký válcový mlýn č. p. 19 roller mill is a local technical monument. The land-use plan for Polanka provides for the preservation of the settlement’s historic layout, the structure of its village squares and the original buildings alongside them.

The historical references relate to different aspects: the year 1381 points to a written record, the mill to a single technical monument, and the land-use plan to the preservation of the settlement’s structure. This distinction between an individual site and spatial planning is useful for understanding the character of the village.

Parts of the Village and Waterways

Polanka is divided into an upper and a lower part, 300 metres apart. The two named parts provide a specific way to orient yourself in the village; the stated distance makes their layout tangible.

A small stream flows below Polanka. It then joins the Myslivský potok, which is the source of the Úslava River. The watercourse sequence thus runs from the stream below the village, through the Myslivský potok, to the Úslava River.

Discover more destinations: Dobrany, Horšice, Čižice, Střelice U Stoda, Nová Ves U Plzně, Letiny, Haje, Nezdice

Go to the regional travel overview: Plzeň-Jih.