Holašovice (, or ''Holschowitz'') is a small historic village located in the south of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, 16 kilometres west of

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

. Village belongs to the municipality Jankov. To the south lies the protected landscape area of Blanský Forest. The village was deserted after the Second World War, allowing its medieval plan and vernacular buildings in the South Bohemian Folk or Rural

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style to remain intact. It was restored and repopulated from 1990, and it was designated as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1998 because of its exceptional preservation of a traditional Baroque-era village.

History

Holašovice is first mentioned in 1263. In 1292, King Wenceslaus II gave the village and several others to the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery of Vyšší Brod. It remained the property of the monastery until 1848. Between 1520 and 1525, Holašovice was nearly wiped out by the bubonic plague. Only two of its inhabitants survived. A column erected over the plague grave at the north end of the village commemorates this event. The monastery gradually repopulated the village with settlers from

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. By 1530, the population had risen to 17, according to the monastery's records, and it had become a mainly German-speaking enclave within the

Czech language Czech ( ; ), historically known as Bohemian ( ; ), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 12 million people including second language speakers, it serves as the official language of the ...

area. By 1900, there were 163 inhabitants of German ethnic origin and 1 of Czech ethnic origin. After the displacement of German residents at the end of the Second World War, many farms in the village were deserted and fell into disrepair. Holašovice became a desolate and abandoned place under the Czech post-war Communist regime. From 1990, the village was lavishly restored and inhabited once more. It now has a population of around 140.

Buildings and architecture

Holašovice is a typical Bohemian village for the Hlubocká Blata area around České Budějovice. It consists of 23 brick farmsteads containing 120 buildings, with a fish pond, a forge, and chapel. The farms were constructed in the South Bohemian Folk

style, in "U" shapes with farmyard in the middle and with their stucco gable ends facing a central broad village green. The buildings date from the 18th to 20th century, with most of them built in the second half of the 19th century. The chapel of St. John of Nepomuk in the village green was built in 1755.

Gallery

File:Holašovice Historic Village-112776.jpg, Village with door File:Holašovice Historic Village-112757.jpg, Village with stream File:Holašovice Historic Village-112759.jpg, Village with tree File:Holašovice Historic Village-112761.jpg, View of bell steeple File:Holašovice Historic Village-112755.jpg, Village with facades

References

External links

Pruvodce.comEntry on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Virtual show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holasovice World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic Villages in České Budějovice District