Panská skála
Ústí nad Labem Region, Czechia · 50°47′10″N 14°28′12″E
A basalt "organ" of up to 12 m columns exposed by an old quarry in northern Bohemia, the oldest protected geological site in the country.
Panská skála is the stump of a Tertiary volcanic vent whose basalt cooled into tightly packed pentagonal and hexagonal columns. Quarrying in the 19th century cut a clean face and revealed the structure; protection came in 1895. The columns stand vertical, up to 12 m tall and 20 to 40 cm across, above a small pond in the quarry floor.
It is the Czech equivalent of the Giant's Causeway, and about one-hundredth as visited.
Why it stays quiet
It is a 15-minute stop for people driving through Lusatian Mountains. There is no infrastructure to hold visitors, so nobody lingers.
Where it is
Before you go
Free access at all hours. Combine with the Bohemian Switzerland sandstone 30 km east.
Updated 2026-09-06 · Suggest a correction
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