Discover Volyně: Fortress, Museums and Trails

Volyně between Fortress and Urban History

Volyně combines a remarkable concentration of history with trails leading into the surrounding area. The fortress of Volyně is particularly prominent: its core dates from the late 13th century, while most of the surviving masonry was built at the end of the 15th century. On the northern side of the courtyard, a defensive wall with a moat and a hexagonal corner-tower bastion dating from around 1470 have been preserved. The museum housed in the fortress is open year-round.

Museums and Historic Spaces

The town museum features permanent exhibitions on the architectural history of the fortress of Volyně, the town of Volyně during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and painted folk furniture from the Pošumaví region. The Old Renaissance Town Hall houses a long-term exhibition in authentic historic rooms. It covers regional history from the 16th to the 18th centuries, including the Knights Hospitaller of Strakonice and the Provostry of St. Vitus. Volyně therefore offers different ways to explore local history: from defensive architecture and urban development to regional traditions.

Churches and Jewish Heritage

The Gothic Church of All Saints stands in the centre of Volyně. The single-nave building has a rectangular nave and a smaller square presbytery. The present presbytery was probably built in the first quarter of the 14th century, possibly in 1327. The late-Renaissance Church of the Transfiguration, built between 1580 and 1618 with financial support from the master butcher Matěj Drška, contains the remains of early Baroque frescoes.

The synagogue of Volyně is an Empire-style building erected between 1838 and 1840 on the site of the new Jewish ghetto. It is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. The protected synagogue complex also includes the former rabbi's house, which is now used by the art school. Another historic site is the Jewish cemetery in the Hradčany district of Volyně, with tombstones dating back to the 17th century.

Unusual Places and Trails

The Na shledanou Gallery was created in 2010 from an unfinished funeral hall that had originally been built in the 1980s but was never completed or put into operation. The cemetery surrounding the Church of the Transfiguration is also part of the town's historic landscape; it contains tombstones of significant art-historical value from the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

Above Volyně stands the Chapel of the Guardian Angel at an elevation of 528 m. It was built in 1858 according to plans by the local architect Josef Niklas. The circular trail around the chapel is approximately 3 km long. On the route from Volyně to the chapel, you will come across the Andělíček educational trail with two stops.

Cycling Route and Choice of Destination

For a longer cycling tour, the Golden Route (Volyňka) is a good option. The 47 km-long, moderately difficult excursion is designed for trekking bikes and runs between Čkyně and Strakonice via Volyně. The town's more recent architectural heritage also includes the Volyně outdoor swimming pool with changing rooms, built between 1939 and 1941 to a design by the Prague architect V. Kolátor.

When choosing your accommodation in Volyně, you can therefore plan according to your preferred focus: the fortress, museums, churches and historic buildings shape the cultural side of your stay, while the Golden Route and the path to the chapel offer different opportunities for cycling and walking. Volyně thus remains an interesting base for a trip that combines local history with your own routes through the surrounding area.

More Places for Your Research

Krejnice, Radesov, Pole, Sloucín, Řepice, Dolní Porící, Měkynec and Nihošovice.

For the higher-level travel overview: Strakonice District.