Devil's Heads

Diabelskie Głowy (Devil's Heads) is one of the most unusual sights near Mělník: a set of monumental sculptures carved directly into sandstone rock outcrops, hidden away in a coniferous forest above the village of Želízy. Rising up to nine metres, these stone faces emerge among the trees in a way that surprises even visitors who arrive expecting something out of the ordinary.

What exactly is this place?

Diabelskie Głowy is not a natural rock formation but a work of art — a sculpture by Václav Levý, carved into the natural sandstone outcrops on the hillside above Želízy. The scale is what makes it memorable: nine-metre-high faces shaped directly out of solid rock, rather than cast or assembled from separate pieces, the result of painstaking work in a hard and unforgiving material.

Where is it located?

The sculptures sit within a coniferous forest above the village of Želízy, in the area around Mělník, a town best known for its vineyards and its view over the confluence of the Vltava and Elbe rivers. The coordinates are 50.4204, 14.4648, useful for planning a route along the forest paths leading up the hillside.

Why devil faces?

Carving faces with an intense, sometimes unsettling expression into natural rock is a recognisable approach within outdoor sculpture, where an artist takes an existing stone formation as the starting point for a figure. Placed deep in the forest, away from any settlement, the heads gain extra impact simply from the way visitors come across them unexpectedly among the trees, reinforcing the strange, striking atmosphere of the site.

Who created it?

The sculpture is attributed to Václav Levý. Carving faces of this size — nine metres tall — directly out of sandstone required not just sculptural skill but a deep understanding of the stone itself, since the forms had to remain legible and withstand decades of weather once finished.

Frequently asked questions

How tall are the Devil's Heads? The sculptures reach a height of nine metres, making them one of the larger examples of rock-carved sculpture in the region.

Where exactly are the Devil's Heads located? They stand in a coniferous forest above the village of Želízy, near Mělník, at coordinates 50.4204, 14.4648.

What material were they carved from? They were cut directly into natural sandstone rock outcrops — the sculptures are not separate objects but permanently part of the bedrock.

Who is the sculptor? The work is attributed to Václav Levý.

Is it worth combining with a visit to Mělník? Given Mělník's proximity and its reputation for vineyards and river views, Diabelskie Głowy makes a natural addition to a day trip in the area, pairing the region's wine-country scenery with an unusual piece of rock sculpture.

Diabelskie Głowy stands as a striking example of how sculptural imagination can turn ordinary sandstone outcrops into a forest of stone faces — a site that continues to draw visitors near Mělník looking for something beyond the town's vineyards and classic river views.