South Bohemia: Český Krumlov, Telč and the land of fishponds

Rivers, castles and ponds

South Bohemia lies in the south of the Czech Republic, between the Bohemian Forest and Moravia. Castles and small arcaded towns follow one another here, a few dozen kilometres apart. In Český Krumlov, the old town fits inside a bend of the Vltava, below the castle’s painted tower.

To the south, road 160 follows the river to Rožmberk castle, then road 163 leads to Vyšší Brod, the southernmost municipality in the country, and its abbey. Upstream, Lake Lipno, a reservoir behind a dam built from 1952, is the largest body of water in the Czech Republic. Above Lipno nad Vltavou, a treetop walk leads to a tower from which, on a clear day, you can see the Alps.

West of České Budějovice, the village of Holašovice is a World Heritage Site for its gables decorated with stucco. To the east, the land turns flat and fills with ponds. The loop goes as far as Moravia, to Telč, whose large square is lined with arcaded houses with colourful façades. To the north, Tábor, founded by the Hussites in 1420, opens its underground passages to visitors.

After Prague’s, the castle of Český Krumlov is the largest in the country. Its Baroque theatre, from 1766, is one of the best preserved in the world. The castle and the old town have been a World Heritage Site since 1992.

The lords of Hradec held Telč and Jindřichův Hradec, whose castle is the third-largest in the country. Telč was rebuilt after the fire of 1530. Around 1550, Zachariáš of Hradec brought in Italian master builders, and the town took on its Renaissance look. One legend links these castles to those of the Rožmberks: the White Lady, Perchta of Rožmberk, who is said to appear before misfortune strikes these families.

The Třeboň fishpond country

Around Třeboň, the ponds were dug in the 15th and 16th centuries to farm carp. In the early 16th century, Štěpánek Netolický opened the Zlatá stoka, a canal more than 45 kilometres long that feeds them. Between 1584 and 1590, Jakub Krčín then built the Rožmberk pond, not to be confused with the castle of the same name. With about 490 hectares of water, it is the largest pond in the country. The basin has been a Unesco biosphere reserve since 1977.

Every autumn, the ponds are drained to harvest the carp. This harvest, the výlov, is done with nets, in front of visitors.

What not to miss

1. 1The square in České BudějoviceA large arcaded square, the Samson Fountain and the Black Tower, 72 metres high.
2. 2HolašoviceTwenty-three rural Baroque farmsteads around a green, on the World Heritage List since 1998.
3. 3Zlatá Koruna AbbeyA Gothic Cistercian abbey founded in 1263, in a bend of the Vltava.
4. 4Rožmberk CastleA castle above the Vltava, haunted by the White Lady, so tradition says.
5. 5The square in TelčRenaissance houses with arcades and colourful gables, on the World Heritage List since 1992.
6. 6SlavoniceRenaissance façades covered in sgraffito, very close to Austria.

South Bohemia in pictures

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Telč and its castle, seen from the far bank of the Ulický pond.

The South Bohemian table

In the Czech Republic, carp is the Christmas dish. Třeboň carp has a protected geographical indication. It is eaten fried, poached au bleu or in soup. Also worth trying: kulajda, a creamy soup with mushrooms and dill.

As for beer, the Regent brewery in Třeboň is on record as early as 1379. In České Budějovice, Budvar has been fighting the American brewer Anheuser-Busch over the name “Budweiser” for more than a century.