Today, there are 43,000 km of marked routes in the Czech Republic
The marking of hiking trails is carried out by the Czech Tourist Club (KČT), using four main colors – red, yellow, blue, and green, and additionally white, which outlines each sign painted on wood or glowing on a fence, building corner, or lamppost. All signs have a standard size: 10 by 10 cm, and a special methodology has been developed for their correct placement.
As Radio Prague notes, there are countless rules that experienced markers must follow.
"The uniqueness of Czech tourist trail marking lies precisely in the fact that it is carried out according to a unified methodology throughout the country. In other countries that also mark trails, this is far from the rule," said Pavel Přilepek, chairman of the KČT marking commission.
"We do not count the routes themselves, although it is not difficult to extract this figure from our database. We keep track of the total length of marked hiking trails, and today this figure in the Czech Republic exceeds 43,000 km. The Czech Tourist Club also marks cycling routes – a little over 38,000 km."
The need to use four colors arose historically. The first routes were marked exclusively in red, but as the network grew, intersections of marked trails began to appear. To avoid having 'red' going in all four directions, routes began to be marked in blue as well. And starting in 1916, all four colors that we are used to today were officially used.
In addition to marking, the club primarily organizes nature hikes. They are held almost every weekend. Some meetings of hiking tourists turn into truly large-scale events.
"Usually the number of participants is in the hundreds. The most popular are long-distance hikes, which attract tens of thousands of people. Soon there will be a hike from Prague to Příčice, where regularly about twenty thousand people start," continues Pavel Přilepek.
To mark the 130th anniversary of the opening of the first marked route, the Czech Tourist Club is preparing a mass hike from Karlštejn and Beroun to Svatý Jan pod Skalou. The event will take place on June 22.
"The route was chosen not by chance – it is the oldest tourist marked trail preserved in the Czech Republic since 1889. The path from Štěchovice has not survived due to the construction of a reservoir," concludes Pavel Přilepek.