Plechý / Plöckenstein
1,379 m
Czechia, Austria
Also known as Plechý, Plöckenstein, +2Also known as
Plechý · Plöckenstein · პლეხი · Plöckenstein / Plechý
- Elevation
- 1,379 m
- Prominence
- 508 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- Jun–Sep
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Approximate line — not for navigation
An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.
Why? 3 check notes
- the line does not follow 'Plešné jezero', the route's namesake (718 m away): mislabelled
- unresolved waypoints: Pod Plechým
- waypoints not on the route line: Plešné jezero (178 m off the trail)
The usual way up the highest point of the Czech and Austrian Bohemian Forest: on the green trail along the Schwarzenberg log-floating canal and through forest to the glacial lake Plešné jezero (1,090 m), then steeply up a rocky, bouldery path on the yellow trail to the border ridge and the summit rocks. About 7.3 km and 3 hours one way, some 640 m of ascent.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 7.3 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +650 m
- −70 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 1,379 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 3h 13m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 2h 35m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the paid car park at Nová Pec – Láz above the southern tip of Lake Lipno, follow the green trail west. After about 25 minutes it reaches the Schwarzenberg canal, an 18th-century log-floating channel, and the first two-thirds of the way rise gently beside it past the settlement of Jelení, a spring at about 4.2 km and the small Říjiště pond. Junctions at Rossbach and Pod Kamenným mořem lead onto the lake trail to the shore of Plešné jezero (1,090 m), a glacial lake below a 200 m cirque wall. From the lake the yellow trail climbs steeply from its eastern side through spruce forest on a rocky, bouldery path, slippery after rain; the steepest stretch exceeds 33% for about 200 m. It reaches the border clearing near the junction Pod Plechým and follows the border to the summit, a heap of granite blocks with a cross. Trees block most of the view; the best viewpoint is the Stifter monument, a 14.5 m obelisk on the cirque rim above the lake, reached along the yellow trail beyond the summit. For a round trip, return down past the Stifter monument and the lake, or follow the red ridge trail east along the border stones to the border crossing below Plechý and descend on the yellow trail to Nová Pec or the blue trail beside the canal to Jelení Vrchy (about 17 km in all). The steep unmarked 'Duch pralesa' experience trail from the lake to the monument, marked with three white stripes, crosses a primeval forest with standing dead trees and is walked at your own risk.
Start
Nová Pec – Láz795 m
- Train to Nová Pec on the České Budějovice–Černý Kříž line; seasonal buses to Jelení Vrchy.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nová Pec – Láz → Plechý | 7.3 | 650 | 70 | 3h 13m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Nová Pec – Láz795 m
- Feature: Rossbach866 m
- Feature: Pod kamenným mořem1,057 m
- Feature: Plešné jezero1,088 m
not on route line
- Summit: Plechý1,379 m
Key Passages
- Steep, rocky climb from Plešné jezero to the border ridge
- Stifter monument viewpoint above the cirque wall
Equipment
0/5 packedDownloads
Route confidence 65%Overview
A forested granite dome (1,379 m) on the Czech–Austrian border, the highest point of the Czech and Austrian Bohemian Forest, of South Bohemia and of the Mühlviertel. Its north side drops in a glacial cirque to the lake Plešné jezero, with a 14.5 m obelisk to the writer Adalbert Stifter on the rim.
Plechý, Plöckenstein in German, rises on the main ridge of the Bohemian Forest (Šumava) a few kilometres east of the point where the Czech, Austrian and German borders meet. It is the highest summit of the range outside Germany and is isolated by more than 40 km from any higher ground. Its northern slopes fall to Nová Pec and the Vltava, its southern slopes to Schwarzenberg am Böhmerwald and the Danube.
On the north-east side a glacial cirque with a rock wall about 200 m high holds Plešné jezero, a dark lake dammed by a moraine of granite boulders. The slopes above belong to the Trojmezná primeval forest, one of the best-preserved remnants of mountain spruce forest in Central Europe, and lie in the strictest zone of Šumava National Park. Bark beetle outbreaks since the late 1990s have left many standing dead trees, and the Austrian side was clear-cut after the 2007 storm Kyrill.
The climb is a long forest walk with a steep, rocky finish. The summit itself is a pile of granite blocks with a cross and trees hide most of the view, but from the summit rocks and the Stifter monument above the lake the view can reach the Alps on clear days. The red ridge trail along the border links Plechý with the tripoint Trojmezí and Třístoličník to the west and Smrčina to the east.
Climbing Notes
A straightforward but long day for anyone fit for about 15–17 km and 650 m of ascent. Allow about 3 hours up from Nová Pec and start early in high season, when the lake is busy. The final climb from the lake is steep and bouldery and slippery when wet; wear proper boots. There is nowhere to buy food on the route. Stay on the marked trails: the summit and lake lie in Zone I of the national park, where leaving the trail, camping, fires and entering the lake are forbidden. In winter, with snow for up to half the year, the walk becomes a serious snowshoe outing with fog and rime; check with the national park for any winter or wildlife restrictions before going.
History
The name, recorded as Plechensteyn in 1346, probably means 'shining rock'. The Stifter monument was designed by Heinrich Ferstel and built of local granite in 1876–1877, unveiled on 26 August 1877, on the cirque rim where Adalbert Stifter liked to look out. After 1948 the mountain lay in the closed border zone and Czech access was banned, with only a brief reopening of the lake in 1966–1970; the trails were restored in 1990. In 1999 a decision to fell beetle-infested trees in the Trojmezná forest led to blockades by environmental groups.
Season
Best Jun–Sep- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Good
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Best (best window)
- October: Good
- November: Possible
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Deep snow; snowshoes; check park restrictions
- Feb
- Deep snow
- Mar
- Snow on the ridge
- Apr
- Snowmelt; wet, icy boulders
- May
- Lingering snow possible early in the month
- Jul
- Busy at the lake
- Aug
- Busy at the lake
- Oct
- Shorter days; first snow
- Nov
- Wet and foggy; early snow
- Dec
- Snow
Access & Permits
- Fees
- Parking fee at Nová Pec – Láz
- Rules
- Šumava National Park Zone I around the summit and Plešné jezero: stay on marked trails; no camping, fires, swimming or entering the lake
- The unmarked 'Duch pralesa' trail from the lake to the Stifter monument runs among standing dead trees and is used at your own risk
- Bicycles only as far as the lake
- Getting There
Nová Pec
Linz (LNZ); Prague (PRG)
- Train to Nová Pec, then the green trail or a seasonal bus to Jelení Vrchy
- By car to the paid car park at Nová Pec – Láz above Lake Lipno (about 1 hour from České Budějovice)
- From Austria, approaches from the Schwarzenberg am Böhmerwald side on the official cross-border Plöckenstein–Plechý trail connection
Hazards
- Weather