Liberec Region: Ještěd, the Jizera Mountains, and Glass
Travel guide · editorialWhere the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland meet, you'll find a region of mountains, rock formations, and glassworks. A trip to the Liberec Region takes you up Ještěd with its futuristic tower, to the ski areas of Harrachov and Rokytnice, and into the sandstone landscape of the Bohemian Paradise.
Landscape and Location
The region, Liberecký kraj, is the second smallest in the Czech Republic. In the north rise the Jizera Mountains, Jizerské hory, with raised bogs and spruce forests, and in the east the western Giant Mountains extend into the region. To the south lies the Bohemian Paradise, Český ráj, a protected landscape area and UNESCO geopark with sandstone cliffs, castles, and gorges. The west is home to the Lusatian Mountains and the area around Lake Mácha, Máchovo jezero. Overlooking Liberec is Ještěd, a striking peak.
Liberec and the Towns
Liberec, known in German as Reichenberg, was a center of the textile industry in the 19th century and, after Prague, the second most important city in Bohemia. The splendid town hall recalls Vienna's City Hall, and the manufacturers' villas speak of the city's former wealth. On the summit of Ještěd stands a hotel and television tower in the shape of a hyperboloid, designed by Karel Hubáček in 1973, which has become a landmark and a protected cultural monument; a cable car takes you up. Families visit the zoo, the iQLANDIA science center, and the botanical garden. In Jablonec nad Nisou, glass costume jewelry, known as bijouterie, is made, and a museum showcases it. Česká Lípa, known in German as Böhmisch Leipa, has a moated castle and an Augustinian monastery founded by Wallenstein, now a regional museum.
Sights in the Liberec Region
Harrachov in the western Giant Mountains has a glassworks where you can watch glassblowers at work, a ski flying hill, and the Mumlava Waterfall. Rokytnice nad Jizerou is a ski area with long downhill runs. Kořenov, formerly Bad Wurzelsdorf, sits on the cog railway from Tanvald, one of the steepest rail lines in the Czech Republic. In the Jizera Mountains, Bedřichov with its cross-country trails is a hub for Nordic skiing and the starting point of the Jizerská padesátka, a major cross-country ski race. Turnov is the gateway to the Bohemian Paradise and a gemstone town known for garnet jewelry. Nearby you'll find the ruins of Trosky Castle on two basalt cones and the rock city of Hruboskalsko. Back in Liberec, it's worth strolling through the Centrum around Town Hall Square, where Gründerzeit facades, arcades, and cafés tell of the textile wealth of the 19th century.
Nature and Active Travel
The rock cities of the Bohemian Paradise, such as Prachovské skály and Hruboskalsko, are crisscrossed by hiking trails that wind between sandstone towers. Climbers have prized the rocks for more than a hundred years. In the Jizera Mountains, long cross-country trails and cycling routes lead through the forests. Lake Mácha has sandy beaches, boat rentals, and campgrounds, and in summer it is a popular swimming spot.
Food, Getting There, and Best Time to Visit
On the table you'll find cabbage soup, dumplings with roast meat, mushroom dishes from the Jizera Mountains, and pastries such as buchty. Wash it down with beer from Svijany and Konrad from Vratislavice. The region has no commercial airport; Prague is about an hour and a half away by bus or car, and Dresden is a similar distance. The best time to visit is summer for hiking and climbing, and winter from December to March for downhill and cross-country skiing. In fall, the forests of the Bohemian Paradise turn color.