For History Lovers
The highest situated castle in Bohemia was founded in 1356 by Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. It was built to protect the gold-bearing area around Kasperske Hory, in order to ensure protection of the land border with Bavaria, as well as to ensure the safety of the newly established trade route known as the Golden Path. It connected Bohemia and Bavaria, as well as developed regions of Western Europe. Kasperk Castle was never conquered.
Distance: 20 km
This is the largest castle ruin in Bohemia. The core of the castle was built in the early 13th century as a residential tower to guard and protect trade routes that connected the town of Susice and Horazdovice, and also very rich gold-producing areas along the Otava River. You can visit the lowest part of the castle cellars and view its natural stalactite decorations.
Distance: 12 km
This is a Medieval Gothic castle from the 13th and 14th centuries. At the end of the 14th century, the castle was extended to include a defensive tower known as Putna, and a massive stone Gothic bridge that connected the tower with the palace castle, so-called Rajsky Dum (Paradise House). The late Renaissance wing of the castle (so called Huert wing) was built in the 17th century. There is an open-air museum of folk architecture, and the exteriors of the buildings transferred from the Sumava Mountain foothills are accessible for free.
Distance: 9,7 km
Kasovice Fortress
The way to the fortress is an easy route suitable for children. The fortress was not large, only a two-story building that wasn’t even surrounded by a moat, and was probably used as a hunting or guarding castle. The founder of the fortress is not known, and by the 16th century it was uninhabited.
There is a legend about a beautiful princess with a gold star on her forehead, who lived in this very fortress. The legend has since been written into a fairy tale by the well-known Czech writer Bozena Nemcova in the 19th century. It was later filmed and turned into a very popular Czech fairy tale
Distance: 3 km
Susice is a town situated on the Otava River, founded around the year 790 as a settlement along the gold panning area. Since 1273, the town belonged to the Czech King Premysl Otakar II, and since then has always belonged to the Czech Crown. In the 14th century the town was surrounded by walls and gained the privilege of a royal town. The city burned down several times, but thanks to its advantageous location at the branch of the Golden Path and its large salt storage, it prospered again in a short time. The town was most prosperous in the 19th century when the production of SOLO Susice matches started. This brand of matches was very well known in Czechoslovakia and both countries after the fall of Communism, however, production has since completely stopped.
More information about the history of Susice and the Sumava Mountains, the match and glass industry, and the noteworthy mechanical nativity scene can be found in the Museum of Sumava in Susice.
Distance: 5 km
Svatobor
Svatobor is a wooded hill above the town of Susice, lying 845 meters above sea level. The hill, which is surrounded by many legends, has a lookout tower built in 1890. It is 31 meters high with 182 steps. The tower offers a panoramic view of the Sumava Mountains in the south, to the Central Bohemian Mountains in the northeast.
Distance: 4.9 km (by walking trail, along the yellow or blue tourist paths)
Zdouň
From the castle towards Tedrazice, one can see the Romanesque-Gothic St. Lawrence church. The church is the last monument of the gold-panning settlement called Vzduny. When and why the village disappeared is not known, and only legends about Vzduny remain. One legend tells a story about the vengeance of Hussite fighters who destroyed the village because the locals refused to give them food and fodder for their horses. The second legend dates the destruction of the village to the period during the Thirty Years War. Supposedly, the silver treasure of the Twelve Apostles was hidden here, and the last person who knew about it was a gravedigger named Lupisek, who escaped from the village. The cemetery around the church still serves Hradek and Tedrazice.
Mass is held regularly at 10:00 am every Sunday.
Distance: 1,2 km
Zbynice
St. Lawrence church in Zdoun is not the only Romanesque Church near Hradek. The Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady in the village of Zbynice also remembers a time when the world said goodbye to the Romanesque style and welcomed the Gothic. The church has another attraction as well. Several stone heads on the church’s tower look down on passersby.
Mass is held regularly at 8:30 am every Sunday.
Distance: 3,4 km