SOUTH BOHEMIA REGION – JIHOČESKÝ KRAJ

South Bohemia is a landscape of endless lakes, ponds, pine forests, and vast peat bogs – RAŠELINIŠTĚ, enlivened by the silhouettes of towns and village churches that gently blend in with the humble farm estates. It is also the land of the imposing mountainous landscape of the ancient ŠUMAVA and Novohradský Mountain – NOVÉ HRADY – ranges and Blanský Forest – BLANSKÝ LES.

ČESKÝ KRUMLOV

The originally early Gothic stronghold – GOTICKÁ PEVNOST – of Český Krumlov underwent a fundamental reconstruction into a Renaissance castle by the ruling Rožmberks – ROŽMBERKOVÉ and modified into Baroque style by the Eggenbergs – EGENBERGOVÉ. The entire historical municipal reservation has been included into the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List – SEZNAM SVĚTOVÉHO KULTURNÍHO A PŘÍRODNÍHO DĚDICTVÍ UNESCO.

HLUBOKÁ NAD VLTAVOU CHATEAU – ZÁMEK HLUBOKÁ NAD VLTAVOU was also reconstructed into a Renaissance castle in the late 16th century, but its present appearance is the work of the Tudor Gothic style – TUDOROVSKÁ GOTIKA, taking after the royal Windsor castle in England. Not far from Hluboká castle is a Baroque hunting lodge named OHRADA from the early 18th century.

JINDŘICHŮV HRADEC CHATEAU – ZÁMEK JINDŘICHŮV HRADEC – originally Gothic castle was transformed into a Renaissance palace in the late 16th century with rich arcades – BOHATÉ ARKÁDY and a decorative rondel – DEKORATIVNÍ RONDEL. After Prague and Český Krumlov castle it is the third largest castle complex in the Czech republic.

TŘEBOŇ city and chateau – MĚSTO A ZÁMEK TŘEBOŇ are a favourite tourist destination. The Renaissance castle is the base of the state Regional Archive for South Bohemia – STÁTNÍ OBLASTNÍ ARCHÍV. People born in the South Bohemian Region may come here to put their family tree – RODOKMEN – together. Třeboň is known for the carp – TŘEBOŇSKÝ KAPR – fish, that most of Czech households eat for their traditional Christmas Eve dinner – ŠTĚDROVEČERNÍ VEČERE. Also for the spa and for the man-made lake system which has brought the fame to ŠTĚPÁNEK NETOLICKÝ and JAKUB KRČÍN Y JELČAN. The great works of Štěpánek Netolický include primarily the 45 kilometer long Golden Canal – ZLATÁ STOKA – which drained the swamp areas and connected already existing water works. Jakub Krčín is responsible for the formation of an entire ensemble of South Bohemian fishponds – JIHOČESKÉ RYBNÍKY.

ČERVENÁ LHOTA chateau – ZÁMEK ČERVENÁ LHOTA – is one of the more picturesque structures of South Bohemia, as a Renaissance castle set in a lake on the site of a former Medieval fortress.

City of ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE can be proud not only of its brewery BUDĚJOVICKÝ BUDVAR, but also for the remains of the horse-drawn railway – KONĚSPŘEŽKA – the oldest railway line on the European continent, connecting České Budějovice and Linz, was built in 1825-1832 mostly for the purposes of transporting salt from the Upper Austrian Salt Chambers – SOLNÉ KOMORY – to Bohemia.

In Dačice there is a memorial to the first sugar cube – KOSTKA CURKU – to come into the world, manufactured here in 1843.

Another UNESCO site in South Bohemia region is the village of HOLAŠOVICE. It shows the wonderful Baroque farms that have been almost completely preserved here. This, together with the preserved stucco decor on most of the facades, creates an irreplaceable atmosphere. A historical smithery – KOVÁRNA – and Baroque chapel are also part of the protected cultural monument ensemble.

South Bohemia region is rich in religious monuments and shrines. In the past, it was mostly monasteries – KLÁŠTERY – that were the most important centers, and for a long time they were the only centers of education and culture. The most influential were the Gothic Cistercian monastery in ZLATÁ KORUNA and in VYŠŠÍ BROD, as well as the oldest monastery in South Bohemia – the Romanesque Premonstrate Monastery in Milevsko – PREMONSTRÁTSKÝ KLÁŠTER MILEVSKO. Religious buildings were founded together with royal towns.

The Baroque period is well represented by shrines in DOBRÁ VODA near NOVÉ HRADY, LOMEC near VODŇANY or ŘÍMOV.