Vozka, Vřesová studánka, Jeseniki (2021.10.24)

Jeseníky, Vozka peak and Vřesová studánka
Another autumn trip in the Czech Jeseníky Mountains. This time we went to the rocky peak of Vozka (1377 m above sea level) in the High Jeseník mountain range. In terms of height, Vozka ranks 9th among all the peaks of High Jeseník. The highest one is of course Praděd (Praděd, 1491 m above sea level).

The route to the top of Vozka
We start our trip from the car park on the Červenohorské Sedlo Pass. The entire route is approx. 16 km. The trail is very easy, the ascents are quite gentle and extended over longer distances. We walk almost all the way along the ridges of the mountains or on traverses, from which there are excellent views of Woźnica and the nearby peaks of Keprník, Šerák and Praděd.

Vozka peak and its legend
There is a legend related to the Vozka peak in relation to its name. In Polish, Vozka means Woźnica. According to this legend, the rock at the top resembles a carriage with a carriage and a coachman. During the famine, the coachman was carrying loaves of bread. When the storm broke and the carriage got stuck in the mud, the evil spirit prompted him to throw the loaves under the wheels so that the carriage could ride on them. He did so, and the punishment for this act was that he petrified along with the carriage.

We're not the world's biggest fans of imagining rock formations, but we liked this legend.

Vřesová studánka
One of the first stopping points on the section from Červenohorské Sedlo is Vřesová studánka at the foot of Červená hora (Červená hora, 1333 m above sea level), after which we return to the summit on the way back. The history of this place is connected with the church, another legend, this time about the miraculous water from the spring and the currently non-existent tourist shelter. The church no longer exists, it burned down in 1946 from a lightning strike. In its place, a brick foundation remained on which a prayer altar was built. At the mouth of the spring there is a brick chapel. We recommend more information about this place on Wikipedia.

Tourism and shelter on the top of Vozka
There is no chalet or shelter at the top or within the mountain itself, but the Chata Jiřího chalet on the slope of the Šerák mountain is about 4 km away, and the tourist base with the Červenohorské Sedlo hotel and guesthouses located on the Červenohorské sedlo pass is about 4.5 km away.

Cross at the top of Vozka
In our photos, a cross is visible at the top of the Vozka rock. It was installed there on September 24, 2021 and should be dealt with an act of vandalism. To fix the cross in solid rock, unknown perpetrators drilled large holes with drills and pneumatic hammers, into which they embedded the pedestal and steel anchors to which steel ropes were attached. The installation of a wooden cross on the top of Vozka has not been approved by the Agency for Nature Conservation of the Czech Republic, nor by the owner of the land, i.e. the Forest of the Czech Republic. At the end of October 2021, the installation was dismantled and an investigation is ongoing.

More routes and tours:
https://udanewycieczki.pl