Volyně combines architectural history with practical opportunities to get outdoors: the fortress houses a museum open year-round, the Chapel of the Guardian Angel stands above the town, and the Golden Route (Volyňka) passes through it. This gives you a choice of historical exhibitions, churches and trails of very different lengths for your stay.
The Fortress and the Town’s History
The core of Volyně Fortress dates from the late 13th century. However, most of the surviving masonry was built only at the end of the 15th century. On the north side of the courtyard, a defensive wall with a moat has been preserved; it includes a hexagonal corner tower bastion dating from around 1470. The different dates give the complex a layered architectural history that you can explore further in the museum. The museum is open year-round; check the latest visitor information before your trip.
The Town Museum features permanent exhibitions on the architectural history of the fortress, Volyně during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and painted folk furniture from the Pošumaví region. Individual displays may change. Another exhibition is housed in the authentic historic rooms of the Old Renaissance Town Hall. It is a long-term exhibition about regional stories from the 16th to the 18th centuries, including the Knights Hospitaller of Strakonice and the Provostry of St. Vitus. Here, too, it is advisable to check the latest access information before your visit.
Churches, the Synagogue and Art
Volyně Synagogue was built between 1838 and 1840 in the Empire style on the site of the new Jewish ghetto and is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. The protected complex also includes the former rabbi’s house, which is now used by the art school. The Jewish cemetery in the Hradčany district adds to this part of the town’s history; its tombstones date back to the 17th century.
The Gothic Church of All Saints stands in the center of Volyně. It has a single-nave layout: the rectangular nave is followed by a smaller, square presbytery. This present-day presbytery was probably built in the first quarter of the 14th century, possibly in 1327. The Church of the Transfiguration, meanwhile, was built between 1580 and 1618 with financial support from master butcher Matěj Drška. Remnants of early Baroque frescoes have been preserved inside. The cemetery surrounding the church contains historically and artistically valuable tombstones dating from the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
The Na shledanou Gallery offers another way to experience art. It was established in 2010 in an unfinished funeral hall, originally built in the 1980s but never completed or put into use. Today’s art venue thus combines a more recent history of adaptive reuse with the town’s older buildings.
The Chapel and Routes Around Volyně
The Chapel of the Guardian Angel stands above Volyně at an elevation of 528 meters. It was built in 1858 to designs by local architect Josef Niklas. The circular trail at the chapel is approximately three kilometers long. On the way from Volyně to the chapel, you will also come across the Andělíček nature trail, which has two stops.
For a longer outing, the Golden Route (Volyňka) offers a different scale. It is 47 kilometers long, passes through Volyně between Čkyně and Strakonice, and is considered a moderately difficult excursion for trekking bikes. Comparing it with the approximately three-kilometer circular trail at the chapel makes the difference in route length clear: one option is a loop at the chapel, while the other is a longer cycling route through several towns. This lets you focus your stay either on a single trail or on an extended bike ride, without losing sight of Volyně’s architectural and exhibition history.
Discover more destinations: Bezdědovice, Chelčice, Milejovice, Němětice, Dolní Porící, Osek, Truskovice, Sousedovice.
See the overview of destinations in the wider area: Strakonice District.
