Plánice - Plánicky ridge nature park
The Plánický hřeben nature park was declared in 1979 by the former Klatovy District National Committee for the purpose of protecting the source area of the Úslava and preserving the area for its biological, landscape and aesthetic values.
The territory occupies 7,851 ha in the top part of the Plánická Highlands, which form a kind of migration crossroads between the Šumava, Brdy and Blaten Mountains. The nature park is dominated by the hills Rovná (728 m above sea level), Barák (706 m above sea level), Stírka (706 m above sea level) and Velký kámen (674 m above sea level). This park is directly connected to the Plzeň district - south by the nature park Kakov - Plánický ridge with the highest peak in the Balkans (706 m a.s.l.).
Both parks are made up mainly of migmatites, which are interspersed with non-migmatized rocks, and in the lower areas, granodiorites and injected gneisses form the bedrock.
The territory is the source area of the Úslava River (in the upper course of the Bradlava), among the more important streams we can also find Habartický potok and Tůni in the territory.
The mosaic structure of forests, agricultural areas, ponds and ponds and small settlements stands out in the rugged terrain. Originally the most widespread vegetation type of the Planická Highlands, flowering beech with interspersed fir (Abies alba) and large-leaved linden (Tilia platyphyllos) can be found today in the protected areas Jelení vrch or Velký kámen.
On the other hand, the Dolejší dráhy natural monument is an example of a high diversity of biologically completely different biotopes, where wetland ecosystems with endangered plant species follow dry habitats and stony seas.
Among the specially protected species of plants and animals, we can name the round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe), forked sedge (Lycopodium clavatum), black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) or the migratory lynx (Lynx lynx).
The town of Plánice, which was first mentioned in 1144, has a rich cultural and historical tradition and is the birthplace of the important Czech inventor František Křižík.
A red-marked hiking trail, which bears the name of the inventor, runs through part of the nature park. Křižík's mother was supposed to take groceries to Prague for her student son on this route. Several mills still stand on the Úslava river, some of which functioned as small sawmills until recently. In the settlement of Nicov, the pilgrimage church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is worth paying attention to - a basilica with a two-tower facade, whose architectural expression far exceeds the standards usual for village churches. Near it is a well with radioactive water surrounded by rumors of many miraculous healings.
Last but not least, in the village of Kvasetica there is an interesting torso of a baroque granary, a part of a preserved fortress with a Gothic foundation on the nearby farm Kratice or the original heritage-protected gate to rural buildings in the village of Petrovice.
