Discover Radkovy: Village History and Nature

Radkovy lies in gently rolling countryside at the foot of the Hostýnské vrchy hills. The village’s history and the landscape of Dřevohostický Forest offer different points of interest for your stay: historical landmarks in the village, protected habitats and a nature trail in the surrounding area.

Landscape and Nature Around Radkovy

The Dřevohostický Forest area also includes the cadastral territory of Radkovy and covers 310 hectares. Its protected features include extensively mown meadows, from the lowlands to the foothills, and species-rich Carpathian oak-hornbeam forests. Plants such as Hacquetia epipactis and Symphytum tuberosum grow in these forests. The area therefore brings together open meadow habitats and wooded habitats with diverse plant life.

The Dřevohostický Forest nature trail is located in the surrounding area of Radkovy. It has twelve information boards about the natural and social conditions of the landscape. These also include orienteering exercises with azimuth bearings and maps. The trail thus combines information about the landscape with practical map work. Check locally for the trail’s current condition.

Cycling in Radkovy takes place on a network of field and forest tracks. This offers a different way to experience the landscape from the information boards and orienteering exercises on the nature trail: here, the focus is on travelling along the tracks, while the trail focuses on natural and social topics.

Village Layout and Historical Landmarks

Radkovy’s original settlement layout has been preserved as a linear village with a widened village square and is designated as an urbanistically valuable area. The shape of the village is itself part of its inherited history. A prominent historical landmark is the Chapel of Saint Dominic, built in 1872. Beside the chapel stands the stone cross from 1865, which is among the locally significant monuments.

Another local tradition tells the story of the chapel bell: during the First World War, it was hidden to prevent its confiscation by the Austrian authorities. The mill, which still stands today, is also part of the village’s long history; it was first mentioned in 1412. The chapel, the cross, the story of the bell and the mill represent different historical connections: a construction date, a monument, a tradition and an early mention.

Other locally significant monuments include the statue of Saint Joseph from 1948, beside the municipal office building on the village square, and the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk from 1900, beside road III/43724. The statue of the Virgin Mary from 1921 stands beside the field track towards Bystřice pod Hostýnem. The village’s history can thus be seen in various places and forms, from the chapel on the village square to religious statues by roads and tracks.

Archaeological finds in the fields around Radkovy and Radkova Lhota indicate that farming communities lived there as early as around the 5th millennium BC. Finds from the La Tène culture have also been discovered in the fields around both villages. These finds add a much earlier period to the later architectural and local landmarks.

Bear leading is also part of Radkovy’s village festivities and events.

Discover more destinations: Provodovice, Lobodice, Zámrsky, Hrabůvka, Žákovice, Brodek U Přerova, Hustopeče Nad Bečvou, Střítež Nad Ludinou.

For the broader travel overview: Přerov District.