The best walks and hikes around lake Michal

Very beautiful place in the middle of nowhere, which is very mystical or interesting due to its history. Great for a short break...

magnificent view from the tower in all directions

On the way to the St. Nikolaus church ruin, here is an opportunity for hikers to rest at a covered table-bench set.

The Dr.-Kempf-Warte (also: Kempf-Turm) was a viewing tower that existed from 1932 to 1981 on the summit of the Krudum. The initiator of the construction project was the doctor Dr. Andreas Kempf from Loket. He founded a fund and invested the initial capital. After his death in 1929, the owner of the brewery in Loket, Anton Thum, took up the idea. In 1931, he published a collection of Kempf's prose texts about the region around Krudum. He donated the proceeds from the book sale to the local heritage association „Eghalanda Gmoi z’Elbuagn“ in Loket. A public fundraising campaign raised the remaining capital for the construction of a viewing tower dedicated to Andreas Kempf. The tower was solemnly opened on Sunday, September 11, 1932. The ten-meter-high, crenellated stone tower, which resembled a castle tower, was designed by the Sokolov building contractor Adolf Marsch, who also took over the construction management. After the Second World War and the expulsion of the original population, the viewing tower was no longer maintained. In 1981, its remains were demolished. Today, a memorial plaque commemorates the former tower and Dr. Andreas Kempf. Here, in a metal box, you can also find the Krudum summit book, where visitors can sign in.

This tree shrine with a painted portrait of the Saint (Svatý obrázek sv. Václava) commemorates near one of the two summits of Krudum the Bohemian Saint Wenceslas, who in the 10th century was the head of the Bohemian tribal union around Prague. In the High Middle Ages, he became the patron saint of Bohemia. In 2000, the Czech Republic declared his death day, September 28, a national holiday.

The observation tower on the southeastern Krudum summit at 835 meters above sea level was built in 2008. The viewing platform is 29.5 meters above the ground and is reached via 152 steel steps of a narrow spiral staircase. In 2005, the Czech Telecommunications Office had put out a tender for the construction of a transmission mast. As the owner of the land, the town of Loket proposed using the mast as an observation tower at the same time. Thus, a tall, slender observation tower with a viewing platform and access staircase was created as a steel structure, offering a wide view over the West Bohemian landscape and across to the Bavarian Fichtelgebirge.

The ruins of the Church of St. Nicholas under Krudum (Sv. Mikuláš) are hidden in the Slavkovský les at the foot of Mount Krudum. This rediscovered 13th-century church stood at the crossroads of medieval paths, and iron ores and gemstones such as amethyst and jasper were mined in the surrounding area. Archaeological research has uncovered not only the foundations of the Romanesque-Gothic church but also burial sites and a variety of coins. The place is surrounded by legends about St. Nicholas, who, according to tradition, distributed gifts to children. Today, preserved remains of the church can be seen here, reminding us of the rich history and mysticism of this place.

The memorial stone commemorates the solemn oath to the Czechoslovak national flag after World War II, which was sworn here in 1947 on the founding day of the new Czechoslovak Republic under the leadership of President Edvard Beneš. The monument was erected in honor of the fallen members of the pre-war units of the National Defense Guard (SOS).