Bílý Kámen – Chapel, Mining Traces and Historic Routes

Bílý Kámen brings together a distinctive village chapel, traces of medieval mining and historic routes. The road connections, a bus service and cycle route 5215 are also useful for getting your bearings. You can plan your trip around the subjects that interest you most: architecture, mining history or cycling.

Chapel and Memorial Stone

The freestanding Chapel of St Peter and St Paul dates from the 18th century and is considered a symbol and landmark of Bílý Kámen. Its square floor plan, hipped roof and small four-sided bell tower define the building. During a restoration phase completed in 2023, the original, richly decorated interior paintings were uncovered, consolidated, fully retouched and reconstructed in their original form.

In front of the chapel’s eastern façade stands an approximately rectangular memorial stone bearing the year 1754. Its smoothed front face has an engraved decorative frame. The year probably refers to the surveying of the newly founded village. Here, a distinctive building stands alongside a detail that offers a cautiously worded interpretation of the village’s early history.

Reconciliation Cross and Historic Traces

East of Bílý Kámen, a medieval reconciliation cross stands beside the road to Jihlava, between Bílý Kámen and Vyskytná. The edges of its arms are bevelled. Both the front and back bear a relief of an engraved crossbow bolt. The cross’s shape and two-sided motif offer specific architectural details to look out for as you explore local history.

The history of the routes extends beyond the village, too. The historic Humpolecká cesta ran between Humpolec and Jihlava through Bílý Kámen. In a wooded stretch between Větrný Jeníkov and Bílý Kámen, older paths survive in the landscape as holloways and groups of holloways. A connection between these earthworks and historic mining is possible, but remains a cautious interpretation.

Mining History and Themed Trail

The Bílý Kámen mining site represents an initial phase of mining, dated to approximately the second half of the 13th century. It is associated with the so-called “daylight” method of mining. A 225-metre-long ore vein was followed using a single row of shafts. Twenty-seven shafts, or mining hollows, survive, measuring about 10 metres in diameter and up to 5 metres deep.

These figures convey the different scales of the mining site: the length of the ore vein that was followed, the row of shafts and the size of the surviving mining hollows. The Hornická naučná stezka in Jihlava comprises 13 information panels in total and leads, among other places, to the Bílý Kámen site. If you are interested in mining history, you can also consider the site in the context of this themed trail.

Getting There and Cycling

Road III/0021 leads to Bílý Kámen and joins road II/523 immediately beyond the built-up area; road II/523 connects Jihlava with Humpolec. ICOM bus services connect Bílý Kámen with Jihlava, Humpolec, Žďár nad Sázavou, Úsobí and Dudín. The bus stop is about 700 metres from the village centre, on road II/523. Check current route information and the bus stop’s location for your specific journey.

Cycle route 5215 runs through Bílý Kámen and leads towards Smrčná and Rantířov. If you plan to use it for your ride, check the route number and course locally before setting out. This way, both the directions mentioned and precise route orientation remain part of your planning.

Landscape Around Bílý Kámen

The area’s landscape features include preserved floodplain meadows along flowing waters. They are protected by law as significant landscape elements. Together with the mining traces and historic routes described above, they broaden the view beyond individual buildings: you can explore Bílý Kámen through both its local history and its landscape features.

Discover more destinations: Milíčov, Střítež, Smrčná, Řídelov, Batelov, Brtnička, Vanov, Žatec Na Moravě

For the broader travel overview: Okres Jihlava.