Vrabinec, Nature reserve in Těchlovice, Czech Republic.

Vrabinec is a nature reserve of 8.77 ha around a rocky hill 407 m high, about 1.5 km northeast of Těchlovice. Its slopes reach 40°, and the summit holds the ruins of a 14th-century castle. The reserve protects an exposed basalt (nepheline tephrite) volcanic neck with columnar jointing, scree and scree forest, mostly covered by broadleaf woodland of lime, hornbeam, oak, beech, pine and birch.

The rocky summit above Těchlovice carries the ruins of Vrabinec Castle, built in the 14th century. The nature reserve around it was later declared to protect an exposed basalt (nepheline tephrite) volcanic neck and its surroundings, where thermophilic plant and animal communities reach one of their northernmost sites in the Elbe valley.

The name Vrabinec ("sparrow place") is tied to the hill and its medieval castle ruin, of which only remnants remain on the summit. Along the red-marked path from Lesná, walkers pass the site of the former village of Ptačí, German Vogelgesang, whose name also refers to birdsong. Legal climbing on the rock walls remains permitted outside the bird nesting season.

You can explore the area using marked trails that connect to regional hiking routes. Spring and summer offer the best conditions for observing the site's plants and animals in activity.

In 2018 the climber Karel Bělina illegally installed seven via ferrata routes in the reserve, including one listed as Jízda zbrojnošů na Vrabinci. The metal fittings and 300 metres of rope damaged rock ledges with rock alyssum and disturbed nesting falcons. In early 2021 the nature protection agency, the Těchlovice municipality and the Czech Mountaineering Union had all seven routes removed, with help from local climbers and Hasiči – Rescue.