Holašovice

Lore & Background

Holašovice is first mentioned in 1263. In 1292, King Wenceslaus II gave the village and several others to the Cistercian monastery of Zlatá Koruna, which held it until 1848. Between 1520 and 1525, the bubonic plague nearly wiped out the village, leaving only two survivors. The monastery repopulated it with settlers from Bavaria and Austria, and by 1530 the population had reportedly risen, though exact numbers are uncertain and vary among historical sources. By 1900, the population was predominantly of German origin, but precise ethnic breakdowns from census data are disputed or not clearly documented.

Reader's Guide

After the displacement of German residents at the end of the Second World War, many farms were deserted and fell into disrepair. Holašovice became a desolate, abandoned place under the Communist regime. From 1990, the village was lavishly restored and repopulated, now housing around 140 people. Its medieval plan and vernacular buildings in the South Bohemian Folk Baroque style remained intact because the village was deserted after the war. The site consists of 23 brick farmsteads containing 120 buildings, with a fish pond, a forge, and a chapel of St. John of Nepomuk built in 1755. The farms are arranged in U shapes around a central village green, with stucco gable ends facing the green. Holašovice's significance lies in its intact representation of a traditional Baroque-era village, recognized by UNESCO in 1998 for its exceptional preservation.

Did You Know?

• Holašovice was nearly wiped out by the bubonic plague between 1520 and 1525, with only two inhabitants surviving.
• The village was repopulated with settlers from Bavaria and Austria after the plague, becoming a German-speaking enclave.
• After the Second World War, the village experienced depopulation but was not entirely deserted; restoration efforts began in the 1950s and 1960s, with major reconstruction from the 1990s.
• The chapel of St. John of Nepomuk in the village green was built in 1755.