Czech Republic Guide
North Moravia
Velké Losiny
The tiny spa of VELKÉ LOSINY (Gross-Ullersdorf) is one of the last oases of civilization before you hit the deserted heights of the Jeseníky. The town's Renaissance zámek (April & Oct Sat & Sun 9am– noon & 1–4pm; May– Aug Tues– Sun 8am– noon & 1–5pm; Sept Tues– Sun 9am– noon & 1–4pm; 
www.losiny-zamek.cz ; 40Kč) is set in particularly lush grounds beside a tributary of the River Desná. It's a three-winged, triple-decker structure, part Renaissance and part Baroque, opening out into a beautifully restored sixteenth-century arcaded loggia, and for once the guided tour is really worthwhile. The chateau was the northernmost property of the extremely wealthy Žerotín family, but was inhabited for less than a hundred years; its grandest chamber is the Knights' Hall, which has retained its original parquet floor and leather wall hangings. Strong supporters of the Unity of Brethren, the Žerotíns were stripped of their wealth after the Battle of Bílá hora and the chateau was left empty – except as a venue for the region's notorious witch trials (56 sentenced to death) during the Counter-Reformation.
Velké Losiny is also home to the country's one remaining paper mill or papírna (April– June & Sept Tues– Fri 9am–5pm, Sat & Sun 9am– noon & 12.30–5pm; July– Aug also Mon 10am–2pm; Oct– March Tues– Fri 9am–3pm, Sat & Sun 9am– noon & 12.30–4pm; 30Kč), which still produces handmade paper. Built in the 1590s by the Žerotín family, and still bearing the family's coat of arms on its watermark, the mill is situated between the chateau and the spa and houses a small museum on the history of paper. The train and bus stations are in the spa itself, from which the chateau is a pleasant one-kilometre walk south.
There's plenty of accommodation in Velké Losiny: the central Hotel Praděd, Lažeňska 4 ( 
583 248 215, www.hotel-praded.cz ; Price: 1501-2000Kč) offers smart en suites with TV; while Penzion Přerovka, northeast of the train station at Revoluční 12 ( 583 248 334, www.prerovka.cz ; Price: 501-1000Kč), is an unfussy family-run B&B with garden.