Syřenov
The village of Syřenov lies to the southeast of Lomnice nad Popelkou on the upper reaches of the Černá stream. There are two distinctive hills in the area – Kumburk (643 m a.s.l.) and Bradlec (557 m a.s.l.), both topped by the ruined castles of the same name. The village consists of two originally separate hamlets – Syřenov and Žďár u Kumburku. It is not known exactly when they were founded, but they are mentioned in the sources in 1533, when they became part of the estate of Albrecht von Wallenstein.
František Cyril Kampelík (died 1872), physician, national revivalist and writer, was born in the nearby mill in 1805. He went down in the nation’s history books mainly as the man behind the establishment of self-help pawnshops, which came to be known as ‘kampeličky’ in his honour.
In winter this is one of the places where you can join the Lomnická magistrála, a long-distance cross-country skiing route. The main route copies the Golden Trail of the Bohemian Paradise and offers some gorgeous views of the whole of the Giant Mountains, the Jizera Mountains and the Bohemian Paradise. The main circuit is 21 km long, or more than 35 km counting the branch routes.
Kumburk
Kumburk Castle is one of the most romantic ruins in the Bohemian Paradise. The viewpoint at the top offers some wonderful vistas of the Jičín region (Veliš, Zebín, Prachov), Bradlec, Tábor, Kozákov, Ještěd, the Podkrkonoší region, the Giant Mountains and nearby Zvičina.
It is also worth mentioning nearby Bradlec, topped by the remains of a castle of the same name from the end of the 13th century. One of its owners was Charles Karel IV, who had to storm it in 1356 to defeat the robber knights that had settled in it.
Kumburk and Bradlec are part of the Lomnice region, a lovely area on the edge of the Bohemian Paradise. The Lomnice region has some beautiful viewpoints, countryside and places of interest, a dense network of hiking and biking trails, and ideal terrain for skiing. The Lomnice region is part of the Bohemian Paradise Geopark, part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network.
The highest peak in the Lomnice region is Tábor (678 m a.s.l.), which can be reached via several footpaths and biking trials 4017, 4171 and 4365. It is topped by the Church of the Transfiguration and the elegant Tichánek lookout tower.