How to celebrate autumn in Czechia: Pumpkin patches, color walks, and corn mazes

This weekend sees the arrival of the autumn equinox on Sept. 23. In Czechia autumn is a season devoted to wine festivals, lantern parades, and color-drenched hikes.

Czech autumn traditions are deeply rooted in the pagan past. Slavic autumn rituals involved making offerings of bread, grain porridge, or wafers and engaging in exuberant celebrations and feasting to bid farewell to Mokoša, the goddess of fertility while welcoming Morana, the goddess of winter.

Modern Czech traditions keep connected to the past in the guise of lantern parades (first associated with the Habsburgs and later co-opted by communist leaders) or wine harvest festivals (wine-making flourished under King Charles IV). International traditions such as visiting pumpkin patches and corn mazes have today become an essential part of autumn activities in Prague and beyond.

We've rounded up a bushel basket of autumn tips and events for making the most out of the arrival of this season.

Kukuřičáky has nine different corn mazes across the Czech Republic for kids and adults alike. The two mazes in Prague are located at Ďáblice and Zahradní Město, or Garden City. In addition, there is another maze located in Kutná Hora. The map for the 2023 season can be seen here.

Dýňová FARMA BYKOŠ opened earlier this month. The farm, located southwest of Prague near Beroun is open through the weekends. Here you can take home a pumpkin for carving or decorating purposes and enjoy pumpkin-flavored goodies like pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, and mulled wine.

Further afoot Pumpkin World (Statek u Pipků) in the Vysočina region makes for a charming day trip. It will open in October and asks future visitors to follow its socials for announcements.

In addition, various farmers markets across Prague sell pumpkins and the Prague Botanical Garden hosts ongoing pumpkin activities throughout October. Find the schedule, which includes pumpkin exhibits and workshops, for 2023 here.

An easy jaunt from Prague, Nelahozeves Castle is organizing a pumpkin festival this year. The annual Pumpkin Carving event on Oct. 21 offers pumpkin carving, chestnut craft stations chestnuts, cookie decorating, and chocolate painting. Autumn-themed foods pastries, langos, and mulled wine will be served.

Early October is prime time for relishing the coppers and golds of the Czech autumn. Petřín, Letná, Divoká Šárka, and Stromovka parks will not disappoint those seeking an eyeful of fall foliage, but what about quieter spots? Read more here.

The Na Ovoce initiative will host multiple apple-picking days throughout September, beginning with a self-picking day on Sept. 20, in the Na Krutci orchard in Prague 6. The event will run through Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. A Fruit Festival will be held on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Na Klíčov orchard in Vysočany, to close the season. Find out where to sip cider or visit apple orchards outside of Prague in our article here.

If you're looking to take a hike a short distance from Prague, take a train to the sleepy village of Srbsko, situated on the Berounka River. From there, you can do a number of pretty hikes.