Panna in the České středohoří

Vrch Panna is a small destination for wandering through the Bohemian Central Mountains. There is a beautiful view from here. Even on the opposite hill Kalich.

The forested cone of Panny rises northwest to a height of almost two hundred meters above the village of Řepčice, in whose cadastre it also falls. A rocky basalt double peak dissected from an augitite vein, it is lined on the slopes with numerous stone rubble, frost cabins and rock outcrops, in the west with a forested plateau and in the southeast under the peak with a small fissure cave. The forest cover is mixed, spruces predominate (unfortunately, currently cut down a lot due to bark beetles), deciduous trees are most often represented by linden. The best way to get to the top of Panna is by following the marked hiking path from the village of Řepčice, from where the circuit and the Educational Trail lead to the top of Panna. The relatively rare mineral chabazite can be found on the southern slope, as it was a European-famous mineralogical site. In addition to other minerals (aragonite, facolite, opal and calcite), this was also found in small cavities in the now extinct tephrite quarries on the southwestern and southeastern edges of Řepčice.At the top of Panna, there are small terrain remains of the castle of the same name, which has been protected as a cultural monument since 1958. The castle was built by Sigismund of Varterberk as a base for fighting the Hussites, or in the fight against the neighboring castle (1.5 km away Žižkův Kalich). In the years 1423 - 1437 it was conquered and occupied by the Hussites, before it was conquered again by the Catholics and demolished by Sigismund of Vartenberk on the emperor's orders. And demolished literally and thoroughly, so that it could no longer serve as a foothold for other enemies of Emperor Sigismund. By all accounts, the castle on Panně was extremely large, apparently the largest of all the castles in the Bohemian Central Mountains - it was built more like a military fortress / base and, apart from the buildings on the top of the mountain, the castle was completely surrounded by perimeter fortifications with several bastions. In addition to its vastness, Panna Castle also scores points in terms of height, as it is also the highest castle in the Bohemian Central Highlands.On April 18, 1944, the pilot hit the summit rock of Panny in the fog with his wing and subsequently crashed with his Junkers. There is a small sign at the site indicating the location of the accident. However, it was not the first plane crash. In 1930, a plane also crashed here on the northwestern slope. As a reminder of the accident, someone planted the year "1930" at the site of the accident from dark spruce trees.