Discover Skočice: Pilgrimage, the Hrad and Rural History

Skočice between Pilgrimage, History and Nature

Skočice combines sacred history, Renaissance and Baroque architecture, rural culture, and natural viewpoints. This opens up different ways to plan your trip: you can explore pilgrimage traditions and historic buildings, discover the Hrad with its natural features, or learn about agriculture at the Grain Museum. The combination of these themes makes the village versatile, while each individual site retains its own character.

The pilgrimage church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Skočice dates from the second half of the 17th century. The central octagonal building is surrounded by an ambulatory. The Chapel of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary was consecrated on 21 August 1678; pilgrimages to the chapel have been documented since the year of its consecration. The building’s form, year of consecration and pilgrimage tradition are therefore clearly connected historically. Next to the church, the Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk stands in the cemetery wall. It was built in 1749–1750 and restored in 2013. Together, the two sacred buildings add different construction periods to the exploration of Skočice’s religious history.

Another site with religious and local historical significance is the Chapel of Our Lady of Help with the Skočický Spring. It is considered one of the oldest monuments in the municipality of Skočice, hidden among houses behind the former Kampelička and accessible only via a narrow alley. Today, the Skočický Spring is located in a restored square chapel with an image of the Virgin Mary, a pump and an iron grille. The hidden location and narrow alley clearly distinguish this site from the highly visible pilgrimage church.

The Skočice Fortress also bears witness to several construction phases. In the second half of the 16th century, it was converted into a Renaissance residence. After a fire in 1672, it was rebuilt in the Baroque style. The surviving Skočice Fortress is a two-winged late Renaissance building and forms the southeastern corner of the farmyard. The Skočice hillfort has been a cultural monument since 1963. At the fortress, Renaissance, Baroque and the surviving late Renaissance form can thus be viewed as part of a continuous architectural history.

The Skočice Grain Museum offers a vivid encounter with agriculture. It is located in a former farm building at the entrance to the village. The exhibition presents grain cultivation from soil preparation and sowing through harvesting to processing. The presentation therefore follows the journey of grain from the first work in the fields to the final processing stage. Visitors can try out some traditional agricultural tools themselves. Alongside its historical context, the museum therefore also focuses on a hands-on encounter with rural work.

The Hrad is a 666.8 m-high double summit in the Netolice Highlands. A 29-hectare nature reserve is located in the summit area, preserving a remnant of the original flower-rich beech forest. The Šumava Viewpoint offers views of Boubín, Bobík and Libín. Since 2005, residents of Skočice have organized an excursion to the Hrad on St. Stephen’s Day. The summit thus brings elevation, protected beech forest and scenic views together in one place. The fixed date on St. Stephen’s Day adds a recurring local tradition to this experience of the landscape.

The annual cycle also shapes the village: the Skočice Pilgrimage takes place regularly at the beginning of July; events are documented for 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. When planning the timing of a trip, both the pilgrimage tradition and a regularly recurring local event are therefore central.

For further orientation, you can also view Chelčice, Střelské Hoštice, Katovice, Drážov, Zahorčice, Truskovice, Milejovice and Lažany.

For the overarching travel overview: Strakonice District.