Being a veteran of these Czech trips, I was looking forward to this excursion, to South Bohemia, with vehement anticipation. In fact, to be honest, I had trouble sleeping the night before. Ok. So perhaps I exaggerated with the last sentence but was looking forward to it nonetheless. Our first stop on our whirlwind two day tour was the sleepy and timeless little village of Holašovice. About 160 km from Praha central, Holašovice is enveloped by the stunning marshlands of South Bohemia. Comprising of several rural Baroque style buildings centred by a traditional village green and pond, Holašovice is one of the UNESCO's World Cultural and Natural Heritage sites and seems untouched but the rigours of modernisation.
Moving on from Holašovice, we ventured further south, deep into what would have been Schwarzenberg family territory. The House of Schwarzenberg presided over Bohemia from the 17th century through to the early 20th century. They owned various fortifications throughout the region including the castles at Český Krumlov, Zvíkov, and our next destination, Hluboká. Overlooking the small town, the crisp, white chateau is stunning and is encompassed by beautiful gardens. The Schwarzenberg resided here until 1939 when the then head of the House had to emigrate overseas to evade the Nazis. The chateau has been reconstructed twice, firstly in the Baroque style then into the Neo-Gothic architecture thanks mainly due to the extensive finances of the Schwarzenberg family and it bears a remarkable resemblance to Windsor Castle in England. Interestingly, the castle has been used in a scene for the film Shanghai Knights starring Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan.
Walking away from the chateau we managed to stop by most people's favourite destination, Hluboká zoo. Of course, not as large as Prague zoo but had a fair range of animals, including monkeys, flamingos and about 10 species of owl.
South Bohemia is splattered by numerous large ponds, the largest of the region, Svět, was located very near our next destination, Třeboň. As the night was beginning to draw in on our first day, we decided to check into our hotel, Hotel Petra Voka, named after the last member of the House of Rosenberg dynasty. We then headed into Třeboň, famous for its carp fish and local Regent brew, for a bite to eat and a cheeky beer, before hitting the hay.
The warm sunlight filtered through our drapes to wake us and we set about a quick breakfast before moving back to Třeboň and to the Rosenberg Chateau. The Rosenberg Chateau, not as big and brash as the other castles, was more delicate and compact, but the courtyard, however, was very much open and picturesque. The House of Rosenberg habited this Chateau in the 14th century, and reconstructed it twice, almost completely after the fire in 1562. When the last of the Rosenberg family had passed in 1611, the chateau moved through various hands before ending up with the Schwarzenbergs 1660.
After lunch we walked along the canals and began to circumnavigate the pond Svět passing the nearby fisheries. We moved into the nearby woods on the outskirts of the town and as we followed the nature trail deeper into the woodland we turned the corner to see a breathtaking monument concealed amongst the trees. The Schwarzenberg family tomb. The Neo-Gothic structure, completed in 1877, almost fairy tale like would not have looked out of place in Nosferatu or Disney's Magic Kingdom. The tomb provided the piece de resistance to a wonderful two days in South Bohemia.
A big thank you to Petra Fabingerová and Hana Škrdlová for all their efforts in organising a memorable trip.
-dp-
