Kbelnice – Landscape and Places of Remembrance

Kbelnice combines a strong connection to its landscape with several cultural sites and places of remembrance. Most of the town lies in the valley of the Kbelnický potok; the Cidlina flows along its eastern side. The town’s history is shaped above all by the ossuary, a memorial to the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and a military cemetery behind Kbelnice. There is also a monument to the Holy Trinity in the town centre. The town’s character thus encompasses everything from riverside landscapes to the history of war and religion.

Landscape and orientation

Most of Kbelnice lies in the valley of the Kbelnický potok; the Cidlina flows along its eastern side. These two features describe different geographical aspects: the valley refers to most of the town, while the Cidlina runs along its eastern side. This distinction is helpful when getting your bearings, as it avoids reducing the town’s location to a single body of water. These two specific features give you a sense of both the landscape and the town’s position.

A tourist signpost at the crossroads by Hospoda u Rumcajse points in two directions. Its location adds a specific point of tourist orientation to the geographical references provided by the waterways. While the valley and river describe the geography, the signpost marks a crossroads. When planning your visit, these clues can serve different purposes: they help you locate Kbelnice within the landscape and identify a tourist orientation point.

History of war and remembrance

The ossuary in Kbelnice is a memorial to the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. It contains the mortal remains of fallen soldiers and gravestones; the site also includes military and civilian graves. To understand its history, it is helpful to distinguish between the memorial and the grounds: the remains and gravestones are part of the ossuary, while the military and civilian graves are on the grounds. The site thus combines the memorial’s connection to the war with different forms of remembrance.

Another site, distinct from the ossuary, is the military cemetery behind Kbelnice on the road from Jičín to Turnov. It is a cemetery for those who fell in the 1866 war. The cemetery includes an Art Nouveau chapel built between 1904 and 1906. Its construction took place nearly four decades after the year of the war, adding a later architectural period to the historical context. Both sites relate to 1866, but they are not the same place: the ossuary is a memorial in Kbelnice, while the military cemetery lies behind the town on the road from Jičín to Turnov.

A religious landmark

The monument to the Holy Trinity stands in the town centre. Its religious theme sets it apart from the war-related memorial sites and gives it a distinct cultural significance. For travellers who want to understand Kbelnice by theme, its dedication is as important as its location: the monument can be found in the town centre and distinguished thematically from the history of those who fell in battle. Its location also contrasts geographically with the military cemetery, which is specifically described as lying behind Kbelnice.

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View the wider travel guide: Okres Jičín.