Horin Czechia
Czech Rep
Frequently Asked Questions
At the canal landing, right beside the famous lock. Hořín sits on the Vraňany lateral canal, some ten kilometres of still water that let boats move from the Vltava to the Elbe. The village, a few hundred residents, starts just behind.
A double lock from 1905, listed as a technical monument, whose stone chambers fill and empty with solemn slowness. Many passengers stay on deck to watch: massive gates, ornate walkways, a lock keeper waving. It is a spectacle from another century, and it costs nothing.
Most of the day belongs to Mělník, about 2 kilometres away: half an hour on foot across the bridge, or a few minutes by vehicle. Keep an hour on the way back for the village and the Lobkowicz estate, and some time on deck during the locking.
Not a great deal, and it is better to know that. The village grew around the Baroque residence of the Lobkowicz family, long a princely summer home; the estate keeps its courtyard of honour, its park and a chapel holding the family crypt. You see it mainly from the outside, on a quiet walk among low houses, orchards and fields.
Because it is the real destination of the day. The small royal town sits on the hill opposite, above the meeting of the Vltava and the Elbe. The terraces of the Lobkowicz chateau give the finest view in central Bohemia over the merging waters, the vine-planted slopes and, on a clear day, the outline of Mount Říp.
Yes, in the princely cellars at Mělník. Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, brought Burgundy vines here in the 14th century. Production stays small: these whites and reds are found almost nowhere else. The Ludmila cuvée is the best known, and a plate of cheese on a terrace is all it needs.
The Czech koruna. Euros are sometimes accepted but at a poor rate, and cards work almost everywhere. Keep a few korunas for the pastry shops and small cafés on the square, where poppy seed cakes are the local star.
Czech. This is a farming village of a few hundred people and English is not widely spoken. In Mělník, the sights and cellars receive foreign visitors, so English works better there, as does German.
May to October. The September harvest gives Mělník its best moment, with golden slopes and working cellars. The paths between Hořín and town, used mostly by cyclists on the Elbe route, are flat and pleasant from spring onwards.
Moderately. The locking often fascinates younger passengers and the walk to Mělník is flat, but there is no attraction or organised activity here. In Mělník, climbing the church tower appeals to older children; the ossuary in the crypt, however, is not for everyone.
