EN > Trip tips > In the Tracks of the Leprechauns of Chomle and Vejvanov

The educational trail around the villages Chomle and Vejvanov in the district of Rokycany will take you to places that were once famous for the production of black coal, and where nature is today taking back what was once hers.

The oldest reference to the mining of black coal near Radnice dates from the first half of the sixteenth century. For decades, people dug mineshafts into the local hillsides. Millions of tonnes of coal were brought to the surface. The individual stations along this educational trail show where the mineshafts were located, where the spoil tips once were, and where the adit breached the surface. Historical photographs show what they looked like, allowing us to draw a comparison with what the place looks like today: forests, fields, gardens

Today, you will only find a few bumps in the terrain here, covered with hornbeam and birch; now, in autumn, you may want to collect a basketful of boletus. Even the protected European beaver, along with fire salamanders and common water frogs, has returned to this location.

The educational trail "In the Tracks of the Leprechauns of Chomle and Vejvanov", which was built in 2018 by the local Radnice chapter of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation within the NET4GAS Closer to Nature programme, is 4.5 kilometres long and has a total of nine stations. While walking the trail, you may want to take a break and freshen up in the newly built shelter (situated at a scenic lookout point), or stop by the pub in Vejvanov.