--- title: "Čarták on Soláň: the bell tower and Galerie v přírodě" description: "The Čarták saddle below Soláň recalls the Wallachian portáši and the painters. See the bell tower with its gallery and the Galerie v přírodě trail." url: "https://zpusteven.cz/en/cartak" lang: "en" latitude: 49.3882691 longitude: 18.2433949 --- ![A close aerial view of the Soláň bell tower - a stepped shingle roof with a cross, visitors on the terrace by the entrance](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/DJI_0028.avif) A saddle below Soláň • Vsetínské vrchy • 803 m a.s.l. # Čarták The saddle where the portáši guarded the roads and painters found their Olympus. - **Where:** the saddle below Soláň, 803 m a.s.l. - **What is here:** a bell tower with a gallery and information centre - **Trail:** Galerie v přírodě • 5 km, 10 stops - **Access:** by car or bus right into the saddle ## A saddle of three stories The saddle takes its name from a čarda - a guard post of the portáši on an old trade route. Today, below Soláň, the history of a coaching inn meets a bell tower with a gallery. Wooden sculptures line the ridge. The mountain above the saddle is nicknamed the Wallachian Olympus - a name earned for it by the painters who used to sit here. ![The Soláň bell tower on a grassy rise in the Čarták saddle, meadow and paths around it and wooded ridges behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/DJI_0030.avif) The Čarták saddle from above: the Soláň bell tower on its grassy rise, meadow and paths around it and wooded ridges behind. Why come here ### Art in the middle of the mountains A bell tower with a gallery and information centre, **wooden sculptures scattered along the ridge** and views of the Javorníky and the Moravian-Silesian Beskids. What not to miss ### The sculptures in the landscape and the exhibition in the bell tower Between the bell tower and the former inn stands the sculpture **Návrat ztracených ovcí**, The Return of the Lost Sheep - and you will meet more than thirty others along the ridge. Inside the bell tower is a permanent display of Wallachian artists and an exhibition hall. When to come ### Any time - the trail is easy The nature trail along the ridge is roughly **5 km long and passable with a pushchair**. The saddle is open to the wind, so an extra layer is useful even in summer. ![Detail of a wooden sculpture of a hooded figure, a second sculpture among the trees behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9504.avif) ![The Soláň bell tower from the foot of the slope, a wooden sculpture on the grass beside it](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9515.avif) ![A dark wooden sculpture in the shape of a violin on a meadow, a stone path around it](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9511.avif) Galerie v přírodě ## Thirty-five sculptures along the Soláň ridge Over roughly five kilometres the trail has **ten stops**, each with a story told in the Wallachian dialect. Views open on both sides of the ridge along the way, and the route is passable with a pushchair. - **length of the trail:** 5 km - **stops with stories:** 10 - **sculptures in the landscape:** 35 ![A group of wooden sculptures and a hexagonal frame on a meadow, trees behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9509.avif) ![A wooden sculpture of a figure wrapped in a shawl, trees behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9498.avif) A figure wrapped in a shawl. ![A dark wooden sculpture of a figure with an animal on its shoulders, right by the bell tower](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9508.avif) The sculpture with an animal on its shoulders stands right by the bell tower. ![A sculpture of a bearded man in a pointed hat with an open book, the tower of the bell tower behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9541.avif) A bearded man in a pointed hat with an open book. ![A pale wooden sculpture of a woman holding flowers by a shingled building](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9522.avif) A woman with flowers by a shingled building. ![Detail of a wooden sculpture of a woman in the Galerie v přírodě by Čarták](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9500.avif) A sculpture of a woman in detail. ![A wooden sculpture of a man in a hat and long cloak on a mountain meadow by Čarták](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9551.avif) A man in a hat and a long cloak. The sculptures were made at sculpture symposia by the bell tower and depict figures from Wallachian stories and legends. ## The story of Čarták From a guard post of the portáši through an inn full of paintings to a bell tower that fulfilled a sixty-year-old dream. The portáši ### A guard post at a crossroads An old trade route from Hungary into Moravia ran through the saddle. From the beginning of the 18th century a wooden guard hut stood here - a **čarda** - kept by the portáši, [the Wallachian land guard](https://zpusteven.cz/en/portasske-hroby), who protected the border, the roads and order in the mountains. The guard post gave the place its name: the čarda became **Čarták**. The name passed to the inn, to the saddle and to the bus stop. ### The inn on Čarták A place to sleep that became the Wallachian Olympus Merchants and carters travelled the route through the saddle - with nowhere here to spend the night or feed their horses. So in 1832 Countess Kinská founded the first coaching inn here - it burned down three times and was rebuilt each time. The inn made its name under the Vašut family, who took it over in 1884. Among its regulars were painters such as Jan Kobzáň, František Podešva and Karel Hofman - they began calling the mountain Soláň the **Wallachian Olympus**. They paid the innkeeper in pictures rather than money, and so the **first gallery** came into being on Čarták. A mountain hotel stands today where the old inn was. ![The front of the mountain hotel building in the Čarták saddle from above, meadows and tall trees around it](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/DJI_0039.avif) A mountain hotel stands today where the coaching inn once was. ### The Soláň bell tower A dream that took sixty years to ripen The idea of building a wooden chapel-cum-bell-tower on Soláň came as early as the 1940s from the painter František Podešva. It took more than sixty years to be realised: on 18 November 2006 Sdružení pro rozvoj Soláně opened a **bell tower to the design of the architect Jiří Kotásek**. It follows the tradition of Wallachian bell towers, but hides something different inside. The bell tower holds an information centre, a permanent display of Wallachian artists and an exhibition hall. It opened with the first Valašský salón - an exhibition tradition that Podešva himself had started. - **the foundation stone laid:** 5 May 2006 - **the ceremonial opening:** 18 Nov 2006 - **the cost of building:** CZK 6.5 million ![The Soláň bell tower with a wooden sculpture on the stone rise in front of the entrance](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/cartak/1280/IMG_9521.avif) The Soláň bell tower - an information centre and a gallery in one. Timeline ## Portáši, painters, sculptors From a guard post of the portáši to a gallery in the open air. Eight stops across three centuries. 1. 18th century ### The portáši's čarda A guard post stands at a crossroads of trade routes, kept by the portáši. After it the place comes to be called **Čarták**. 2. 1832 ### The first coaching inn The inn in the saddle is founded by **Countess Kinská**. It later burns down three times - and is rebuilt each time. 3. 1884 ### The Vašuts from Karlovice The Vašut brothers settle at the inn. In Karlovice people start calling them “the Čarták ones”. 4. 1888 ### Jura Vašut buys Čarták He buys the inn from the Kinský estate. In his time Čarták becomes a celebrated stop for walkers and painters alike. 5. 1941 ### Jindřiška inherits Čarták Vašut's youngest daughter takes over the inn. Twenty years later she sells it, and it then changes hands several times. 6. 1940s ### Podešva's vision The painter František Podešva proposes building a wooden chapel-cum-bell-tower on Soláň - a place of art and information. 7. 2006 ### The bell tower opens The foundation stone on 5 May, the ceremonial opening on **18 November**. Podešva's vision is realised sixty years on. 8. 2008–2010 ### Galerie v přírodě Sculpture symposia by the bell tower and a nature trail along the ridge: **35 wooden sculptures** rise in the landscape of Soláň. Visit ## Plan your visit to Čarták You can reach the saddle by car or by bus; the Galerie v přírodě trail is freely accessible all year. Check the bell tower's opening times before you set out. ### Where exactly it is #### In the saddle between two valleys Čarták lies in a saddle on the road connecting the valleys of the [Rožnovská and the Vsetínská Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovska-becva), about 10 km south-east of [Rožnov](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznov-pod-radhostem) as the crow flies. The summit of Soláň is less than a kilometre away. ##### Open in maps [Mapy.com](https://mapy.com/en/zakladni?x=18.2433949&y=49.3882691&z=17&source=coor&id=18.2433949,49.3882691) · [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=49.3882691,18.2433949) ##### Other places nearby [Kotlová and the settlement of Jezerné](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kotlova) · [Pod Tanečnicí](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pod-tanecnici) · [The Charlotta Masaryková memorial](https://zpusteven.cz/charlotte-masaryk-memorial) · [Benešky](https://zpusteven.cz/en/benesky) · [Poskla](https://zpusteven.cz/en/poskla) · [The Horní Bečva dam](https://zpusteven.cz/horni-becva-reservoir) · [The lookouts above the quarry](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry) · [Pod Juráškou](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pod-juraskou) Map of the area ### What to know before you go #### The bell tower - information centre and gallery Inside there is an **information centre, a permanent display of Wallachian artists and an exhibition hall**. Check the opening times and current exhibitions with [Sdružení pro rozvoj Soláně](https://www.zvonice.eu/) before you set out. #### The Galerie v přírodě trail Freely accessible **all year**, following the red waymarks along the ridge. Easy going and passable with a pushchair. #### Weather on the ridge The saddle and the ridge are open to the wind - **an extra layer** is useful even in summer. The reward is views of the Javorníky on one side and the Moravian-Silesian Beskids on the other. #### Refreshments and toilets There are **mountain chalets with restaurants** in the saddle. Outside the main season, check they are open beforehand. ### How to get here Čarták is one of the few places on the ridge you can reach by car and by bus alike. The walk from Rožnov makes a full day out. #### By car by road right into the saddle ##### To the Čarták saddle The road through the saddle connects the valleys of the **Rožnovská and the Vsetínská Bečva** - from Rožnov by way of Hutisko-Solanec, from the south from Velké Karlovice. There is parking in the saddle itself. [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Sedlo%20%C4%8Cart%C3%A1k%2C%20Sol%C3%A1%C5%88) · [Waze](https://waze.com/ul?q=Sedlo%20%C4%8Cart%C3%A1k%2C%20Sol%C3%A1%C5%88&navigate=yes) #### By bus a stop in the saddle itself ##### The Hutisko-Solanec, Čarták, Sedlo stop The bus stops in the saddle itself, so a walk here need not be planned as a loop. Timetables change with the day and the season; check the return connection for your chosen time beforehand. [Find a connection (IDOS)](https://idos.cz/vlakyautobusymhdvse/spojeni/) #### On foot a full day out from Rožnov ##### From Rožnov by way of Hážovické díly • ~11 km From Masaryk Square along the red route to Hážovické díly, then the blue over **Vsacká Tanečnice** and the red as far as Čarták. The route can be walked one way with a bus back from the saddle - but check the return connection beforehand. [Trip details](https://zpusteven.cz/hiking/roznov-valasska-bystrice) ##### Along the Vsetínské vrchy ridge walk Čarták lies on the **red ridge route** running from Bumbálka to Vsacký Cáb - it can be built into a multi-day crossing as well. Na závěr ## Doplňující info a test znalostí ### Rychlá rekapitulace **Where does the name Čarták come from?** From the čarda - a wooden guard post that stood here from the beginning of the 18th century on the old trade route from Hungary into Moravia. It was kept by the portáši, the Wallachian land guard. **Who founded the first inn in the saddle, and when?** A coaching inn was founded here in 1832 by Countess Kinská. In 1888 Jura Vašut bought it from the estate, and under him Čarták won its fame among walkers and painters. **Why is Soláň called the Wallachian Olympus?** Because of painters such as Jan Kobzáň and František Podešva, who came here and earned the mountain the nickname. They painted here and paid the innkeeper Vašut in pictures rather than money. **What is inside the bell tower on Soláň?** An information centre, a permanent display of Wallachian artists and an exhibition hall. The bell tower opened on 18 November 2006 - the idea of building it here came from the painter František Podešva as early as the 1940s. **How many sculptures and stops does the Galerie v přírodě trail have?** Along five kilometres of trail there are ten stops and thirty-five wooden sculptures in all. They were made at sculpture symposia by the bell tower and depict figures from Wallachian stories. --- Source: [Čarták on Soláň: the bell tower and Galerie v přírodě](https://zpusteven.cz/en/cartak) - zPusteven.cz. When citing, please link to the page.