Horažďovice

When Schweik went out into the darkness, the old man still went on muttering to himself. "He says he´s going to Budějovice to join his regiment. From Tábor. And the vagabond goes first to Horaždovice and then to Písek. Why, drat me if he ain´t going round the blessed world."

How to reach Horaždovice from Písek

By car:

• II/139, from Kbelnice take the I/4 to Strakonice, then go via Katovice to Horažďovice (40 km)

By train:

• line no. 201, change in Ražice to line no. 190

By bicycle:

• Otava cycling route

Things to do

• The centre of the town is a listed area and well worth exploring. What is probably one of the oldest preserved gates can be found here, the so-called Red Gate, and one can also see remains of the original town fortification system.
• The local castle houses the Municipal Museum presenting an exhibition on the history of the town and its surroundings. One of the most interesting displays is undoubtedly the one on river mussel-farming for pearls in the 19th century.
• Fill up your water bottles at the U Svaté Anny healing spring. You can reach it by following the red mark for about 2 km from the town centre. If you have any doubts about the healing properties of the spring, just ask the locals! There are several healing springs in the region, each suitable for a different type of ailment.
• Do not forget to take your swimsuit. The newly built aqua park will please anyone who is into swimming or splashing about in water. www.bazen.horazdovice.cz
• Climb up to the Prácheň ruin and explore the ruins of the castle that used to be the most important and prominent centre of the former Prácheňský Region. This role was later on taken on by Písek. When you are at the top of the hill, notice the Church of St Clement. This church was the ninth church of its type in the whole of Bohemia and it is quite probable that it was consecrated by the missionary Metoděj himself.

Schweik´s Recommendation

• According to a local tale, Půta Švihovský of Rýzmberk, the local lord of the manor, decided to have St Clement's Church on top of the Práchen hill repaired. During the reconstruction work he ran out of money so he organised a collection of funds. He declared that the construction work was not to be continued until people filled up the bell, taken off the repaired church, with money. At first the money came rolling in, but then it stopped and Půta had to start extracting the money by force. When his men took the last two farthings off a poor widow, she uttered a curse and the bell, along with all the collected money, disappeared beneath the earth where it still lies. It is guarded by a black dog with burning eyes and it has not yet been found by anyone. One greedy Horaždovice citizen tried really hard to find it and he managed to dig so deep that he touched the edge of the bell, but then he heard someone screaming:"Fire!". He ran off to see what was going on but when he returned there was no sign of a hole nor his hoe.

Information Centre Horažďovice

Strakonická 152, CZ-34101
Telephone: +420 376 511 999
E-mail: ic@horazdovice.cz
www.sumavanet.cz/ihorazdovice

File date: 5.11.2010