Kuřívody Chateau is the modest but intriguing remnant of a Renaissance noble residence, tucked away in the village of Kuřívody within the town of Ralsko, in the Českolipsko region. It's a spot for those who enjoy history entwined with the fate of a former borderland and military training area.

The building stands along the road connecting Mimoň and Mnichovo Hradiště, in a landscape that still carries the rugged character of its military past - the former Ralsko military area left its mark on both the countryside and the fate of local monuments. The surroundings offer quiet, lightly trodden trails leading through the hills of Velká Buková and Malá Buková, where visitors can enjoy stillness and rugged beauty in every season. The chateau itself is privately owned and closed to visitors, but the village and nearby trails are well worth exploring.

How to get there

• Bus stop in Kuřívody - from here a yellow-marked trail leads over the summit areas of Velká Buková and the saddle near Malá Buková to the vanished village of Strážov, easy to moderate difficulty
• Reachable by bus from Mimoň, Bělá pod Bezdězem or Mladá Boleslav - there is no railway connection in the area

Practical information

• The chateau is privately owned and closed to the public, with a slow ongoing reconstruction underway
• Cycling routes 25 and 3040 pass through Kuřívody
• The yellow trail crosses or partly coincides with the Přes Bukové hory geo-trail of the Ralsko Geopark

It's worth knowing that Emperor Joseph II spent a night here in 1778 while traveling from Český Dub to Holany, and in 1866 the building served as a field hospital for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Kuřívody.