Svatá Kateřina – Šumava, borderland and Jižní stezka

Svatá Kateřina combines the Šumava landscape with a distinctive border location and a range of different discoveries. Here, you can make a long-distance hiking route the focus, plan day trips to the Bavarian side or explore historical features and protected natural areas. This gives the town various approaches to travel planning without committing to a single experience.

Šumava and routes through the landscape

The Jižní stezka leads through the Šumava in eight stages, from Vyšší Brod to Svatá Kateřina, and is 192 kilometres long in total. For your planning, this provides a clearly defined hiking route with a destination in Svatá Kateřina.

The Šumava Natura 2000 site comprises Šumava National Park, the Šumava Protected Landscape Area and part of the Šumava Biosphere Reserve. It extends from Svatá Kateřina in the Klatovy District southeastwards to Přední Výtoň in the Český Krumlov District. The protected area therefore reaches far beyond the individual town and connects various sections of the Šumava landscape.

The mountains in the surrounding area also provide clear points of orientation for the region. Stangenruck lies in the vicinity of Svatá Kateřina. The mountains of Kronwithöhe, Lovečná and Jägerhübel are also located in the surrounding area.

Border, day trips and practical orientation

Above Svatá Kateřina, the Sv. Kateřina–Rittsteig border crossing can be used. The nearby Svatá Kateřina (Rittsteig) border crossing enables day trips to the Bavarian side and back. Crossing the border is therefore one of the special features you can consider when choosing the focus of your stay.

Parking is available directly on site at the Svatá Kateřina border crossing. On weekdays, buses run from Nýrsko to the Chudenín and Svatá Kateřina stops, and with limited service also to Chudenín, Svatá Kateřina, st.hr. This means that your travel planning can make use of both a specific parking location and a bus connection from Nýrsko.

An unusual historical detail can be found at boundary stone 15C. On the Bavarian side, it does not bear a carved and colour-highlighted Bavarian coat of arms because the border follows a watercourse there and the Chodská Úhlava forms a meander in the opposite direction. The course of the border is made understandable here by its precise local setting.

Monuments and destinations in the wider area

The Hradčany Hillfort is designated as a monument in Svatá Kateřina. The Bayerwald-Tierpark Lohberg is also located in the vicinity of Svatá Kateřina. The wider regional area includes the Neunussberg castle ruins and the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Chammünster. This allows you to combine a stay amid a border landscape with a designated monument and more distant cultural destinations.

If you are looking for accommodation in Svatá Kateřina, you can first decide on your preferred focus: the Jižní stezka for a longer hiking plan, the border crossing for trips to the Bavarian side or a combination of natural surroundings and regional culture. This allows your choice to be aligned with your own daily plans without attributing unverified characteristics to individual accommodations.

More destinations for your travel planning

Further destinations for your research include Vrhaveč, Biřkov, Frymburk U Sušice, Dražovice, Předslav, Hojsova Stráž, Dolany and Zborovy.

To the overview of the wider travel area: Klatovy District.