Thayabrücke customs house - across the border bridge - approx. 25 m after the border building, turn left onto the green marked trail - past the concrete bunker - follow the trail uphill to the asphalt road - on the left the road leads to the visitor centre in Čížov, on the right it leads down to Hardegg - after 1 km in the direction of Hardegg a spur trail branches off to the right to the Hardegg lookout point - return via the asphalt road downhill to the Thayabrücke.
- Highest view of the town from the Hardegg lookout point
- Exhibition in the Austrian Customs House
The hike starts at the Thayabrücke in Hardegg, where the border between Austria and the Czech Republic runs right along the middle of the river. Here you will also find the Austrian customs house, which has an exhibition about the history of the bridge.
After you pass the bridge and the customs house on the Czech side, a green-marked trail branches off about 25 metres further on. This winds upstream along the Thaya to a small creek and gives you views over the weir towards Hardegg again and again.
Follow the markings further through the forest up to the plateau, and at the edge of the forest take the path to the right to the asphalted road to Hardegg.
From here you can take a detour to Čížov, about 1 km away, where there is an information centre of the Czech Podyjí National Park and a preserved relic of the Iron Curtain.
On the right, the road leads again in the direction of Hardegg. From here on, follow the blue markings. After about 1 km, an approximately 200-metre-long branch path leads through the forest to the lookout point of the Hardegger Warte. You should not miss this view of the valley and Hardegg, as the lookout stands at the highest point of this section of the valley.
Return to the Thayabrücke via the easy asphalt road.
- Today a meeting place, the Thayabrücke was an insurmountable border at the time of the Iron Curtain. A small exhibition on the nature and history of the region, which can be visited in the Austrian customs house during the summer months, tells you all about this. Important: Please ask in advance for the access code at the National Park House.
- Some concrete bunkers at the beginning of the path testify to the attempt to build protective shelters. However, the facilities built in the 1930s were never completed and are now left to decay.
There and back via the asphalt road, the path to the Hardegger Warte is also manageable with a pram, despite some steep sections.
Do not forget valid travel documents!
