Hrad Dívcí Kámen (also known as “Maiden’s Stone”) is a stunning medieval castle ruin set atop a scenic hilltop in South Bohemia, Czechia. Located only 18 km from Ceske Krumlov, it is an excellent day trip option, especially since few people take the time to visit this unique attraction when in the area — it’s very possible that you’ll get to enjoy the castle ruins on your own. Below we present our Dívcí Kámen Castle Ruins Travel Guide to help you get the most out of your visit to these spectacular castle ruins. To reach the castle, you will have to walk 20 to 30 minutes from the parking lot along a beautiful trail through forests and farmland.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
4-Day Itinerary in South Bohemia
Best Things to See and Do in Cesky Krumlov
Best Day Trips from Cesky Krumlov
Dívcí Kámen Quick Facts
Brief Castle History: Dívcí Kámen is a castle from the 14th century, and is one of the largest and best-preserved medieval monuments in the Czech Republic. At the time of construction, the main building was a three-story palace with three rooms on each level. Although the castle was a modern and comfortable residence for its time, it never became a permanent seat of the nobility. It was founded by the House of Rosenberg (Rožmberk) in 1349 and its function was mainly administrative and to demonstrate the power of the family, and was mostly inhabited by a permanent garrison of 10 soldiers commanded by the military governor. In 1506, it was decided that the castle was no longer to be maintained and all the soldiers and their belongings were moved to Cesky Krumlov.
It is believed the area where the castle was built was settled as far back as 4000 years ago. The oldest archaeological findings of stone and bones date back to the Bronze Age. We also know that the name “Dívcí Kámen” predates the construction of the castle that is in ruins today, as it was mentioned in old documents from famous Czech King Charles IV giving his permission to four brothers to build the castle at the Dívcí Kámen site, as it was named at the time.
Reaching the Castle: From the parking lot, you need to either hike a 1.5km trail through a lovely forest or walk 2km along a road that passes through both open fields and forest (we will provide more details on these trails below). The area surrounding the castle is classified as a nature reserve, forming part of the protected landscape area of the Blanský Forest.
A picnic is a great idea: There are a lot of picnic tables around the site, so feel free to pack a lunch.
Easy to reach: Dívcí Kámen Castle is a great day trip option from either Ceske Krumlov (15 min) or Ceske Budejovice (25 min).
Dívcí Kámen Visiting Information
Visiting Hours: Dívcí Kámen is accessible all year round – daily from dawn to dusk.
Entry fees: There is an entry fee of 75 CZK for adults (about 3 USD/Euros (2023)); 30 CZK for children and free for infants under the age of six. Student ID will also get you a rebate of 20 CZK.
How to get to Dívcí Kámen
The simplest way to get to Divci Kamen is by car, roughly a 15-minute drive from Ceske Krumlov. Although there are a few different access points from which you can reach the Divci Kamen site, the simplest is to make your way to the nearby town of Trisov and find the free train station parking lot.
If you haven’t booked your rental vehicle yet, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Scotland.
If you would like to have cellular/wireless data while driving abroad for up-to-date navigation information, we highly recommend Airalo, the world’s first and largest eSIM store. They have plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide. With Airalo eSIMs, you can get connected the moment you land at your destination and avoid data roaming charges.
Hiking trail to Dívcí Kámen
Once you’ve parked your vehicle, a little bit of hiking is involved. For some reason, Google Maps doesn’t know of the shortest route through the forest along a beautiful trail (the red route below), but trust us that it is there.
From the parking lot, we recommend doing the loop counterclockwise, starting on the left (red path). If you have bad knees or are not an avid hiker, then you may prefer taking the path to the right (blue path) and then returning the same way. This path is flatter and easier to walk but it is also slightly longer. That being said, the left path isn’t particularly difficult either and doesn’t have any steep sections, the path is just more undulated with uneven terrain at times.
The red path takes through a lovely forest along a sinuous rocky trail. We would consider this to be a relatively easy trail.
The point where the left (red path) and red (blue path) routes meet near the top of the map (Prostor po první vstupní bráne) is where the entry point to the castle site is located. This is where you will pay the entrance fee at a small wooden kiosk.
As you leave the wooden kiosk, you’ll have to climb up a long set of stairs until you reach a stone archway.
Exploring Dívcí Kámen
The site of castle ruins of Dívcí Kámen is not particularly large, but you can easily get lost in your thoughts here imagining how the castle might have looked in its heyday. And since it’s neither too big nor too busy, it’s tempting to explore every nook and cranny around the site. Once you’ve passed the stone archway you’ll enter the castle courtyard.
Looking at the Google Maps overhead view, you can get a pretty good idea of the layout of the castle ruins.
Prostor po první vstupní bráne: entrance gate.
Druhá vstupní brána: the long staircase leading to the…
Tretí vstupní brána: stone archway that leads you into the …
hradní predhradí: courtyard
If you make it all the way to the eastern end of the ruins (the furthest point to the right on the map above), that’s where you’ll get the best vantage point to see the ruins almost in their entirety. If you turn your back to the castle you’ll even get great views of the nearby farmlands. You’ll notice that we visited during a very foggy day!
The return trail
Once you’re finished exploring the ruins, you can either head back the same way you came (red path) or try the alternative trail (blue path) for a different perspective of the area, including a nice lookout point offering distant views of the ruins (see the red square in the above map).
The first half of the return trail (blue path) is through a nice forest trail. As you can see, the path is wide and flat. You will even come across a lovely little waterfall.
The second half is through open fields and farmland (and you can see that it was quite foggy our entire time here).
And that’s it. The return shouldn’t take you more than half an hour at a slow pace.
Nearby Attractions
You can easily combine a visit to Dívcí Kámen Castle with a visit to Holašovice Historic Village as part of a day trip from either Ceske Krumlov or Ceske Budejovice. Dívcí Kámen and Holašovice are just a short 15 km (25-minute drive) apart.
Holašovice, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional central European village. It has a large number of outstanding South Bohemian ‘Folk Baroque‘ style buildings from the 18th- and 19th centuries. It’s not a particularly large site, but it’s a fun place to explore for an hour or two. There are also a few restaurants in the village should you be hungry after you hike to Dívcí Kámen Castle.
For more information on visiting this unique village, check out our Holašovice Historic Village Travel Guide.
Preparing a trip to Czechia?
You might be interested in these Czechia pages:
4-Day Itinerary in South Bohemia
Best Things to See and Do in Cesky Krumlov
Best Day Trips from Cesky Krumlov
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Rick Steves’ Prague & the Czech Republic
Lonely Planet’s Prague & Czechia
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
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e-Sim cards
Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide. With Airalo eSIMs, travellers can get connected the moment they land at their destination and avoid nasty data roaming charges
eSIMS are a sustainable alternative to single-use SIM cards – they are 100% digital, require less energy to produce and be re-used rather than disposed of.
Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Dívcí Kámen Castle Ruins Travel Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to the South Bohemia region of Czechia!
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