The Boubínský prales, the summit of Boubín and historic sites in Včelná pod Boubínem give Buk Pod Boubínem a focus on nature and history. The themes range from old-growth trees and protected species to chapels, roads and memorial stones. This makes it possible to consider natural features and historical details separately when planning, rather than grouping them together as a single attraction.
Forest and landscape around Boubín
The heart of the Boubínský prales consists mainly of beech, spruce and fir trees. The oldest spruces and firs are 300 to 400 years old. The Boubínský prales National Nature Reserve includes an area designated on 1 July 1858 and extends into the cadastral area of Včelná pod Boubínem. Its protected features include natural forest stands with rare and endangered plant and animal species.
The Boubínský prales protected area covers elevations from 874 to 1,362 metres. The summit of Boubín lies at 1,362 metres in the cadastral area of Včelná pod Boubínem. These elevations describe different reference points: the range of the protected area and the height of the summit. A small obelisk on the summit bears the inscription “Cardinal Prince of Schwarzenberg, 3.8.1867” and commemorates the visit of the Archbishop of Prague.
Čertova stráň offers another landscape scene: it includes a gorge of the Boubín stream with fir vegetation. The steep slopes were shaped by periglacial processes. The Čertova stráň Nature Reserve also includes the cadastral area of Včelná pod Boubínem. The Poušť natural monument, with numerous nests of the red wood ant, is also located near Včelná pod Boubínem.
Roads, trees and memorial sites
The Lukenská silnice runs from Včelná pod Boubínem to Zátoň. Its section near Včelná pod Boubínem was built between 1848 and 1855. The stone monument Sloupový smrk stands at the edge of the forest along the route from Včelná pod Boubínem towards Boubín. It commemorates a spruce that dried out prematurely and was felled in 1970. The road, monument and story of the tree each tell a different part of the area’s past.
A memorial stone with a cross stands at a forest crossroads near the entrance to the game reserve in Včelná pod Boubínem; its restoration is documented for 2025. Another memorial stone, U Monumentu, bears the date 1848/55 and the inscription “AUS DANKGEFÚH”. The two monuments can be distinguished by their recorded features: the cross and location at the forest crossroads define one, while the inscription and date define the other.
Chapels and local insights
The Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the village square of Včelná pod Boubínem dates from 1817. The St Hubertus Chapel is located in a forest south-southwest of the village, near the former Boubín hunting lodge. Its present form was built in 2001 as an approximate replica of a wooden chapel from 1905 and consecrated on 3 October of the same year. The two chapels therefore have different historical reference points: a village-square chapel from the early 19th century and a later reconstruction connected to a building from 1905.
The Včelná pod Boubínem Iron Museum is located in the large farmhouse No. 5. The Nuska family collection comprises more than 1,300 exhibits. If you are planning a visit, check the current opening hours in advance. This keeps the museum as a separate item on your itinerary from the landscape and history themes, without tying your plans to a particular visit duration or fixed schedule.
Discover more destinations: Bušanovice, Mahouš, Benesova Hora, Šumavské Hoštice, Strunkovice Nad Blanicí, Nicov, Olšovice, Kubova Huť.
For the main travel overview: Okres Prachatice.
