Holašovice, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional central European village. It has a large number of outstanding South Bohemian ‘Folk Baroque‘ style buildings from the 18th- and 19th centuries, following a ground plan dating from the Middle Ages. It attracts few tourists compared to other places in South Bohemia and, as such, you are likely to feel like you have the place to yourself at times. Below we present our Travel Guide for visiting South Bohemia’s unique Holašovice Historic Village, designed to help you get the most out of your visit here. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in this village, it’s unique and unlike any place we have visited before, completely different from the larger towns in the area, such as Cesky Krumlov of Cseke Budejovice. Holašovice is definitely one of South Bohemia’s hidden gems.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
4-Day Itinerary in South Bohemia
Best Things to See and Do in Cesky Krumlov
Best Day Trips from Cesky Krumlov
A Brief History of Holašovice
Holašovice was first mentioned in documents dating from 1263. In 1292, King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia gave the village (along with several others) to the Cistercian monastery of Vyšší Brod, and it remained the monastery’s property until 1848.
Between 1520 and 1525, Holašovice was nearly wiped out by the bubonic plague. and only two of its inhabitants survived. You can find a column erected over the plague grave at the north end of the village commemorating this event. After the Cistercian monastery gradually repopulated the village with settlers from Bavaria and Austria, the population had become a mainly German-speaking enclave by 1530. By 1900, over 95% of inhabitants were of German ethnic origin. Most of the buildings you see today date from the 18th to 20th century, with the majority built in the second half of the 19th century. One of the oldest buildings in the village is the Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, built in 1755.
After the displacement of German residents at the end of the Second World War, many farms in the village were deserted and fell into disrepair and Holašovice was left mostly abandoned. Under the Czech post-war Communist regime, the village was a desolate place.
Thankfully the village was restored and repopulated once more in the 1990s – and today has a population of about 140 people. The village layout and the style of the buildings are both so unique and well-preserved that it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
Though the village is pretty quiet on average in terms of tourist activity, festivals are held here throughout the summer meaning that it can get quite lively at times. We however visited in early September, and there were at most a dozen people spread out around the village.
How to get to Holašovice
The Holašovice Historical Village is situated in the South Bohemia Region of Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic), 17 km west of Ceské Budejovice and 24 km north of Ceský Krumlov.
Although it’s easily reachable by car in under 30 min from either city, the village is difficult to reach by public transport given its rural nature. Although there is a direct bus from Ceske Budejovice that takes about an hour, getting here from Cesky Krumlov is more complicated, requiring a train, a bus and 2km of walking.
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There’s a small metered parking lot on the north side of town (2 € / hour). Right next to it, there is a tourist information center where you can get more information about the village – but unfortunately, its opening hours are limited and it was closed during our visit. If it’s open, do step inside as there is a small ethnographic exhibition and pictures of how the village looked like before the restoration.
The visitor center is open:
April-October: Wed-Sun (9am-5pm)
November-December: Mon-Fri (9am-5pm)
January-March: closed
When open, toilets are available to visitors.
Visiting Holašovice
As you can see from the above map, the village isn’t large by any means – you can easily walk around the three streets of interest in less than 20 minutes. But we have no doubt that you will be charmed by this village and will definitely want to take your time exploring the various different building facades. You should plan for about an hour to slowly explore the village and beautiful building facades, take pictures, and perhaps a bit longer if you want to enjoy a coffee or a quick lunch.
Apart from a small museum, pottery center, visitor center, and few restaurants, the village has essentially been untouched by tourism, providing you with a very authentic experience.
Almost all the farm buildings are built according to the same pattern; usually, they are U-shaped structures with a farmyard in the middle. The gables face the village and their stucco decorations are in a style known as South Bohemian “Folk Baroque” – an architectural style typical for the villages in Central Europe (and particularly in South Bohemia), which emerged in the 1820s and reached its height in the 1860s.
The village is composed of twenty-three farmsteads, which are placed around a somewhat rectangular village green park, where you’ll find the chapel of St. John of Nepomuk and a small fish pond.
Where to eat while in Holašovice Historic Village?
Check out Restaurace Špejchar u Vojty, especially if the weather is pleasant and allows you to eat outside. The tables are laid out in a spacious and intimate courtyard setting. The food and service were great, and the prices were very reasonable.
Stonehenge Holasovice
If you see signs for the nearby Stonehenge Holasovice while driving near the town, feel free to ignore them! This is nothing but a tourist trap, where someone scattered rocks on their property in a manner to mimic the famous Stonehenge site in England. Although they only charge a small fee to visit, it’s really a pointless attraction.
Nearby Attractions
If you are visiting Holasovice as part of a day trip from Cesky Krumlov or Ceske Budejovice, you might be interested in combining it with a visit to Divci Kamen Castle. Dívcí Kámen and Holašovice are just a short 15 km (25-minute drive) apart.
Dívcí Kámen is a stunning medieval castle ruin set atop a scenic hilltop. Few people take the time to visit this unique attraction when in the area, not unlike Holasovice it’s very possible that you’ll get to enjoy the castle ruins on your own. To reach the castle, you will have to walk 20 to 30 minutes from the parking lot along a beautiful trail through forests and farmland. The castle was founded by the House of Rosenberg (Rožmberk) in 1349, and has been abandoned since 1506.
Preparing a trip to Czechia?
You might be interested in these Czechia pages:
4-Day Itinerary in South Bohemia
Best Things to See and Do in Cesky Krumlov
Best Day Trips from Cesky Krumlov
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Rick Steves’ Prague & the Czech Republic
Lonely Planet’s Prague & Czechia
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
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e-Sim cards
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Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Holašovice Historic Village Travel Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to the South Bohemia region of Czechia!
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