Attractions and Places To See around Strakonice - Top 10

Strakonice, at the confluence of the Otava and Volyňka rivers, has around 22,000 inhabitants. It was founded long before the birth of Christ at one of the gold panning sites of the Celts in South Bohemia. The water castle built here in the 12th century was initially the residence of the Bavors of Strakonitz and came into the possession of the Order of St. John in the 15th century. Strakonice was granted town rights in 1367.

The originally Romanesque church in the first courtyard of the castle was probably built between 1220 and 1235 by the significant Czech noble family of Bavors of Strakonice. The current main nave with choir and narrow south aisle date from this period. Shortly thereafter, before the year 1243, it was donated by Bavor I to the Order of Saint John, better known by the designation Knights of Malta or Hospitallers. It served as the monastery church of the Hospitaller commandery. Shortly thereafter, the Hospitallers erected a cloister between the church (then called St. Adalbert) and the castle palace with unique brick rib vaults and had it decorated with wall paintings. These frescoes are the earliest cycle of wall paintings north of the Alps and depict Christ's teaching. The prismatic church tower, which has retained its Romanesque character to this day, dates from the same period. Further architectural transformations of the church took place in the Gothic and later in the Baroque style. The castle and the church gained great importance after the Hussites had destroyed the Order's seat in Prague in 1421. The castle of Strakonice then became the permanent seat of the Grand Priors and remained so until the end of the 17th century.

The "Rumpál" tower was part of the castle's defense system, which was built by Bavor II around 1270. It probably got its name from the device used to lower offenders into the dungeon on the ground floor. Today, 96 steps lead to the viewing platform, which offers a beautiful view of the city of Strakonice and the nearby peaks of the Bohemian Forest foothills.

In 1977, the new bridge over the confluence of the Otava and Volyňka rivers was built. The bridge was named after Jan Palach following the Velvet Revolution. Palach, born in Prague in 1948, was a Czech student. In protest against the suppression of the new freedoms of the "Prague Spring" and to awaken the population from their passive attitude after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Warsaw Pact states, he set himself on fire on January 16, 1969, in the upper part of Wenceslas Square. He died three days later in the hospital.

At the site of today's Sparkasse on Velké náměstí once stood the Rococo house Hrbkův, the birthplace of Father Josef Šmidinger, a patriot and book lover who founded a library in Strakonice in 1843. In 1905, when the arrival of Emperor Franz Joseph I was expected, the house was already slated for demolition. It had to be covered with burlap and decorated with paper garlands. Shortly after the emperor's departure, the house was demolished and a Jugendstil Sparkasse was built in its place. First there was the town savings bank, then the state savings bank, and today the Czech Sparkasse. At the entrance, there is a memorial plaque for Šmidinger. The building was erected in 1906 in the Neo-Renaissance style according to the plans of Karel Bubla. The noteworthy facade was designed by Josef Bosáček based on designs by Václav Malý.

The former - and presumably soon also future - town hall replaced the original building on this site, which was destroyed by fire. The two-story building was erected in 1903 by Antonín Albert in the historicist style. The south facade with its gables is decorated with Neo-Renaissance elements and colorful sgraffito ornaments by Josef Bosáček. The first upper floor features rich ornamentation of intertwined tendrils, leaves, and flowers. The second upper floor is adorned with ornaments, and between the windows is the town coat of arms with a Czech lion. The arched fields of the tower on both sides of the windows show representations of justice and self-government. The building at various times housed a grammar school, a primary school, and until recently was a residential building. It is currently being converted and renovated and is soon to serve as the town hall again. The city administration is still housed in the building to the left of this one.

Water once flowed under this bridge. Alleged witches were subjected to the water ordeal here. Unfortunately, they drowned innocently.

The first mention of Blatná dates back to 1235. At that time, the owner of Blatna Castle, a moated castle located on an island in the Lomnice River, was Visemirus de Blatna. A settlement developed on the left bank of the river opposite the castle, at the crossroads of the trade routes from Prague to Strakonice and from Písek to Pilsen. Various documents state that the castle was part of the Templar possessions; however, this cannot be verified. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blatn%C3%A1?wprov=sfti1#Nachbargemeinden