The appearance of the lookout today is a replica of the original structure from the 19th century, which was destroyed by a big storm in 1953. The construction of the new gazebo was carried out thanks to preserved photographs. The original viewpoint was mentioned as early as 1838, but under a different name, Mariaruhe. The name change came after 1918, when it was called Mariarut or Maria’s Viewpoint.
The wooden gazebo was built by Count Kristian Vincenc Valdštejn, who owned the woods around Kozel Castle. As the name suggests, the gazebo was built by the count for his wife Maria, Countess of Thun-Hohenstein.
Count Valdštejn was a descendant of one of the oldest Czech noble families. He was a businessman and industrialist. At the time of the industrial revolution, he enhanced his Šťáhlava manor with the Kozel castle and the castle and land in the vicinity of Mnichova Hradiště.
Overnight in the barracks, tour of the unique bunker. The Pilsen region started military tourism
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In 1816, he founded a foundry in Sedlec near Staré Plzeň and subsequently a machine shop, whose Pilsen branch, Valdštejnská strojírny, later became the seed of Škoda plants.
The current gazebo was built in 2014. There is also a legend about the name, which says that the rock formation was given its name by the unrequitedly in love Countess Marie. She is said to have ended her life by jumping off a cliff.
Photo: Tereza Havlíčková
On the boulder rock, on the right side, there should be a carved date of the establishment of the independent republic, October 28, 1918. If you try to find it, you better be careful, so that you don’t end up under the rock like a countess.
Buligník, or lydite, is a gray-white stone that dates back more than 650 million years. It was formed from mountainous gels of silicic acid on the sea floor.
Beautiful landscape and view
We will go to the viewpoint on the way from the village of Milínov. There is a beautiful landscape in the surroundings. Horses graze in the meadows and there is beautiful nature. In the village, you can visit an ecological farm, where they have a large playground and lots of animals to observe. The route is about two kilometers long.
We will walk past the meadows and along a nice forest path to a resting place called Maria’s still life. The forest is really beautiful here. All around we admire tall trees and animal feeders. We also see a few houses for elves that the children built here.
An easily accessible staircase leads to the gazebo, which even the smallest tourists can handle. At the top, the best view is in the northwest direction, where the view is not obstructed by so many mature trees. We immediately notice the castle on the hill in the distance. According to the map, we find out that it is Radyni.
The local forests are interwoven with a large number of not only hiking but also cycling routes, including two marked educational trails. A trip to the viewpoint can be combined, for example, with the nearby ruins of Lopata, about 3.5 kilometers away, or the Kozel hunting lodge.
The place where Princess Ludmila was murdered. A walk through Tetín
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