Martiněves: Building History, Memorial Sites and Routes

Martiněves brings together a layered building history, historic transport routes and described hiking routes. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in Martiněves, these topics can help you put the destination in context. Highlights include a building with several construction phases, a manor farm, chapels and a monument; the routes vary in course and format.

Building History and Memorial Sites

The foundations of a 16th-century fortress have been preserved at House No. 1; traces of the building also show its later conversion into a Baroque manor house and into farm buildings for a sugar factory. The house is also the birthplace of the Czech musicologist Otakar Hostinský. For the purposes of dating, the 16th century refers to the fortress, while the manor house and farm buildings belong to later phases. Thus, several uses of the same address are linked with the biography of a musicologist.

At the southwestern edge of Martiněves, the historic manor farm includes a Baroque barn dated to 1722 and bearing the coat of arms of the Kinský family. The date belongs to the barn, while the fortress foundations at House No. 1 date back to the 16th century. This brings together two different ways of placing buildings in context: an early fortress with later alterations, and a single dated building bearing a family coat of arms.

A Late Baroque chapel in Martiněves dates from the late 18th century; it was repaired in 1908. The Chapel of St. John stands at the intersection of the old long-distance route, which is now a farm track, and the road from Martiněves to Račiněves; it was repaired in 1992. The dates distinguish the construction period from later repairs: the late 18th century refers to the construction of the Late Baroque chapel, while 1908 and 1992 refer to repairs. In the case of the Chapel of St. John, its location at a crossroads is also part of its historical context.

The granite monument “Pomník obětem 1. světové války v Martiněvsi” names the fallen from Martiněves, Pohořice and Charvatce. Pohořice is thus associated both with this memorial and with the history of the old long-distance route: within the municipality of Martiněves, it ran from Prague in the direction of Dresden, Leipzig and Berlin. The former inn at No. 37 in Pohořice has survived from the period when the route was in use.

Hiking Routes and Getting There

The description of the yellow-marked “Cesta Otakara Hostinského” leads from Mšené-lázně via a landscape park and through a forest to Martiněves. A route described as a short circular hike is about seven kilometers long; it leads from Mšené-lázně along the Cesta to Martiněves and back via Charvatce. The circular route adds the return leg via Charvatce to the path to Martiněves. Another route description gives the sequence along the green trail as Budyně nad Ohří, Vrbka, Martiněves, Mšené-lázně, Brníkov and Kostelec nad Ohří. Check locally whether the trail markings still match the described route.

An advisory updated on April 5, 2025, notes that buses run year-round, including on weekends. Check the timetable for your travel date.

Discover more destinations: Třebenice, Dobříň, Újezd, Lkáň, Malé Žernoseky, Vědlice, Bříza, Snědovice.

For the broader travel overview: Okres Litoměřice.