Only one-kilometer long educational path, located in an authentic place of palatial settlement finds, presents its visitors the life of mammoth hunters. The trail was opened in September 2017 and you will find it in the forest of Chrástka in Boršice near Uherské Hradiště.
Getting there
Actually, it´s not that easy to find it 🙂 But joking aside: Boršice is easy to find because it is located about 13 km from Uherské Hradiště, just off the exit from the E50 road. But since we are not local, we couldn´t find the way to the path in Boršice and we had to ask local people. Direction indicators in the village are unfortunately missing.
The first one we saw on the pillar when we turned right from Družstevní street (leading from the village center towards Nedakonice) to the street just before the local stone-carvings. *
* this way I ask the locals or those who have already been on the trail if you could write me the street name. I know there was a sign with its name, but I did not mark it because I thought I’d find it on the internet. Unfortunately, I did not find it, even in the cadastral map of the village 🙁
At the end of the dead-end street, we left the cars and went on a field path (here the mark was not missing).
The path is accessible all year round and free of charge. After about 100 meters we came to the official beginning of the educational path. Here is also one of the sheltered rest places where you can have a snack.
Then we followed the path and gradually discovered information boards (altogether 11), which revealed the interesting facts about the life of Paleolithic mammoth hunters. Interesting on each panel are yellow-colored paragraphs that confront the myths and mistakes of history books and school education.
Almost at the end of the trail is another covered seating, and especially: beautiful wood carvings. Whether life-size mammoth hunters, or mammoths and other animals of the early Stone Age.
Summary
The general rule for the evaluation is that it should start with compliments 🙂 So I would certainly highlight the nice illustrations on the panels. Indeed, visitors will be able to learn how mammoth hunters looked, how they dressed, how and where they lived (what kind of dwelling) or what kind of animals they hunted. I was not surprised to find out that their author Libor Balák was the pupil of the famous painter and illustrator Zdeněk Burian.
No less impressive are the wood carvings of Martin Cigánek, artist woodcarver from Valašské Klobouky.
The path may well serve as a diversification of school teaching, where pupils can learn about our history directly on the site of paleontological findings. On the other hand (and I already have some reservations or if you want: room for improvement ;)), the information boards were too complex. If the path is intended for children, I would expect something much more eye-catching and the interpretation given much more briefly (honestly – smaller children will not read long paragraphs and will not always comprehend complex text). At the same time, it would be nice to have for them something they could try, “touch”, something that would attract them to this undoubtedly interesting subject. If the path was to be a unique tourist attraction of the Slovácko region, I would not be afraid to invest in the future in the boards with audio guides. For history-geeks (read: just for adults, that are keen on the subject and don´t mind reading longer complex texts), I would prepare brochures in a “weatherproof” box so that one can study them at home.
Also, if the path is to serve a target group of visitors, ie families and seniors (as proclaimed in the promotional material), why not making it better accessible? I would welcome a path accessible for a stroller (or walkers for seniors). The trail is in the forest terrain, but not so rugged to figure a solution up. A couple of wooden stairs could surely be bypassed somehow.
Where in the neighborhoods
About 700 meters from the beginning of the trail you will find the restaurant “Hospůdka na Haldě” (near the pond of the same name). There is a pleasant indoor and outdoor seating for visitors. And for small visitors, there is a large playground.
And what about you? Have you been to Path of mammoth hunters? Or to some other nature trail nearby? If so, write me in the comments and share your tips with others!
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