Must see in NW Czech Republic

Try to make time for Gorlitz , right on the Polish border , a fascinating city with some several thousand buildings in varying styles that are listed as being of architectural significance - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Görlitz On my last sojourn in Prague , I devoted a day to Karlovy Vary , also wonderful architecture and historical significance - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlovy_Vary

I've heard Karlovy Vary is nice but haven't made it there. Gorlitz is indeed really nice, but it might be a big detour from Prague. Karlovy Vary is to the west and might not be far out of the way if at all.

Hi,

"...north Czech Rep. near the Polish border" That was the historic area of Teschen. If you saw the flim, "The Illusionist" Jessica Biel had that aristocratic title, the Duchess of Teschen. Now the spelling has changed both on the Polish and Czech side of the border.

A number places in western Czechia I could recommend, depending if you desire to see places visited mainly by international tourists or places away from them. I suggest Plzen and further to east in Moravia, no longer western Czechia, the town of Brno.

NW Czechia means the Spa triangle around Karlovy Vary. Very beautiful region, and once a popular destination for the rich and famous, especially Russians, just like the Cote d'Azur.
Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) itself is the biggest and most beautiful of the spas in this area, but Marianske Lazne (Marienbad) is also very pleasant. The biggest town is Cheb, which is historically significant and offers a nice old town. And nearby Loket is a vute medieval gem high above a river.
NW Chechia and the Spa triangle however are far away from the Polish border, so it would help to know where exactly you will be there.

Martin is right; we could give you better advice if we know where in NW or west C.R. you are staying. Spa triangle: Karlovy Vary and nearby Loket (loket means elbow): somewhat resembling Cesky Krumlov (but without crowds) - river from 3 sides, castle on the cliff above the town. Marianske Lazne, Frantiskovy Lazne and nearby Cheb. If you widen your choice from NW to west C.R. then of course Pilsen.

Clarifying my location:

My friend lives about 3 hours drive NE of Prague. I don't recall the name of the village, barely a village at that. I need to recontact him for that information. I know he said it was part of the "Sudetenland" region, so historically German. We went for a walk along tank tracks laid down by the Soviets to, as he described it, protect Poland from the Czechs or the other way around.

I recall last time we were there, 2009, we made a drive to Dresden, which was not terribly far.

I have some time to wander, and don't need to plot a direct or quick route from my locale to the Luxembourg border. Mostly looking for interesting villages, maybe including some hike opportunities connecting villages. Basically hop on a train, exit a good place, spend a night, maybe walk to the next place, etc.

So 3 hours drive NE of Prague? That would be NE Bohemia or even Moravia. Sudetenland historically German? It depends how far you go in history. Soviet tank tracks to protect Czechs from Poland or Polish from C.R. Never heard about it and it does not make much sense. Czech Republic is relatively small but it still take time to get from point A to point B. I could give you better suggestions if I know the name of the village you will be staying in or at least a nearby town.

@ dean...Interesting about the Soviet tank tracks. I would be interested in knowing your friend's town/village in the former Sudetenland. Get the name in the present day Czech, or if possible, the name in German since he asserts it was in the Sudetenland. Maybe it was one of the places fought over in the 18 and 19th centuries, which then used it its German name, eg. Münchengrätz

Keep in mind that Czechoslovakia and the Soviets in the inter-years did NOT share a common border, They would have to go through Poland first, (and Poland was hostile) a situation which Stalin was determined to change in 1945 as the Red Army occupied Czechoslovakia and Poland. The remedy was to take "Sub-Carptho-Ruthenia".

Re: this protecting whom from whom, Pol vs CZ or vice versa, ie the apparent justification, was this in reference to Polish-Czech rivalry/claims on Teschen. When as a point in time?

@ Ilja..."It depends on how far back you go in history." I thought politically you go back to the 400 years from 800 AD to 1200, during which the German Drang nach Osten (their version of the American Manifest Destiny) took place. It was in the period that German settlers/migrants reached the area of the Sudentenland.

True, the Sudentenland was never part of Germany, it was part of the Habsburg Empire.

Fred, what's now called Sudetenland was in Bohemian Kingdom. After the battle on White Mountain in 1620 it became part of Habsburg empire. Bohemian kings were inviting German merchants to settle around important roads (trails) long before 1620. Germans lived in almost every town in Bohemia and Moravia including Prague and Brno. Later the area where 50% or more inhabitants were Germans was considered Sudetenland and in 1938 after infamous appeasement in Munich had to be ceded to Hitler.

@ Ilja...Thanks for the information, yes, Bohemia was basically German in the urban centers, culturally and linguistically. Prague was a German city until 1850, saw itself as such.

"...long before 1620." ..exactly. Mozart went to Prague (his Prague Symphony) as if he were going to a German city.

My friend described the village he is in as having been built by Germans in the 19th century, mostly wood buildings. His place is made from logs. Its scattered buildings, not like your typical older European village. It may have been a settlement by or for Germans. Once WW2 was over the German families were given the boot, and his family, which is Czech came into possession of their cabin. I think it is near Libirec. But need to verify this.

@ dean...Thanks for the answer. Very close to Liberec, that town was known as Reichenberg., definitely in the former Sudentenland.

Yes, those Germans there "were given the boot " with Anglo-American approval, contrary to the Declaration issued at the Yalta Conference in 1945 during the Vertreibung, (which in English is the "explusion") the years 1945-49....some pretty, pretty ugly scenes took place in Liberec then, even in light of the Vertreibung.

Ah, Liberec. Formerly Reichenberg, and the capital of the Sudetenland. The wooden houses are typical for the Sudete mountains on both sides of the border. Before 1945 Germans lived in the mountains, but after the expulsions these villages often weren't resettled completely, and many of the houses were turned into holiday homes, so called chatas, since the 1960s. Today many of these villages have only 10-50% permanent residents compared to the prewar situation.

I don't know what you have seen in the area, but the Czech side has a few nice castles, like Kost, Frydlant, Grabstejn or Sychrov, while the German side offers two beautiful towns, Görlitz and Bautzen, and the Zittau mountains with a romantic castle ruin on a mountain that looks lik a bee hive (Oybin). The region also has a few very nice villages. The Polish side however is very run-down.

And the Spa triangle is indeed a good stopover between Liberec and Luxemburg. I would recommend to spend a few days there, since the spas are really pleasant.

Having said that: "mostly looking for interesting villages, maybe including some hike opportunities connecting villages". In this case consider the Malerweg (painters trail) in Saxon Switzerland, 2h to the west of Liberec, and on the Czech/German border.
https://www.theadventurejunkies.com/malerweg-trail/
http://www.trails4hiking.com/destination/europe/germany/hiking-the-malerweg-trail-in-kurort-rathen-germany/