Discover Dačice: Castle, Museum and Nature

Dačice combines historic architecture and collections with opportunities to explore the landscape on foot. When planning your stay, you can choose from cultural attractions, a walk in the castle park, and longer educational and hiking trails. The destinations described each have a different focus: from the nobility in the 19th century and regional history to nature and wildlife.

Castle, Museum and Architecture in Dačice

Dačice State Castle was originally built as a Renaissance château for the Krajíř family of Krajk at the end of the 16th century. It acquired its present appearance through a Neoclassical renovation in the 1830s. The restored tour route presents the life of the nobility in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The castle is therefore not only about its architectural history, but also about the way of life associated with the route.

The Dačice Municipal Museum and Gallery holds around 30,000 exhibits, including approximately 1,700 paintings, drawings and prints. These figures may change as cataloguing progresses. The collection also includes an extensive body of graphic works by Max Švabinský. The permanent exhibitions focus on the history and ethnography of the Dačicko region, the world's first sugar cube, and historical photographs and postcards of Dačice. Notable people from Dačicko are also an exhibition topic.

A visit to the museum can bring together several perspectives: the regional history and ethnography exhibitions cover Dačicko, while the photographs and postcards focus on the town. The first sugar cube and Max Švabinský's collection offer other points of interest. You can therefore focus on regional history, visual materials or individual areas of the collection.

Another Renaissance building is Starý zámek, a palace built between 1572 and 1579 and decorated with sgraffito blocks. At St. Lawrence's Church, exhibition rooms and a lapidarium lead into the tower, where visitors can see Dačice and the surrounding area. The tower's opening days and hours vary by season. Bear this seasonal schedule in mind when planning your visit.

Castle Park and Nature Trails

The castle park covers 10 hectares and includes a pond with an island. There are two suggested walking times: the short walk takes about 10 minutes and goes around the chapel, while the longer route takes approximately 25 minutes and goes around the pond. You can choose your walk according to the time available. Check seasonal access information again before your visit.

Those interested in natural monuments and other sites of nature-conservation value will find information panels along the nature attractions educational trail. Some stations have simple shelters with benches and tables. The trail connects Toužínské stráně, Moravská Dyje and Dubová stráň. Each of these names represents a different aspect of nature, which the panels help explain along the way.

Toužínské stráně is a 3.07-hectare natural monument with a community of drought-tolerant plants with a steppe character. More than 600 butterfly species live there, along with rare beetle and reptile species. Dubová stráň, by contrast, is a deciduous woodland on the slopes of the Moravská Dyje valley. It is home to numerous warmth-loving species and woodland communities, as well as rare and endangered animal species. These descriptions show two different natural environments: a dry, steppe-like habitat and deciduous woodland on a valley slope.

The Stezka hajného Kázka trail shares knowledge about forest plants, fungi, trees, birds, mammals and insects, and offers interactive activities for children. The features were installed in 2025; check their current condition before your outing. The trail can be reached on foot or by bicycle. You can extend your excursion by following part of the educational trail to Kostelní Vydří and returning to Dačice around the ponds. This loop is 7 kilometres long and takes about two hours on foot. Check the route details again before travelling.

A Longer Route Along the Dyje

The Vydří stezka starts in Dačice at the road bridge over the Dyje. The 10-kilometre route, marked in green, follows the river from mill to mill and includes nine information-board stations. It ends in Staré Hobzí, from where you can take a bus back to Dačice. Check the route details before setting out, and consult the bus timetable for your return journey. The loop via Kostelní Vydří takes about two hours on foot; the Vydří stezka is 10 kilometres long. This information can help you choose the route that best suits the time you have available.

Discover More Destinations

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Return to the main travel overview: Jindřichův Hradec District.