Gutwasser – Baroque Church and Stations of the Cross

In Gutwasser, sacred art, pilgrimage and local history can be explored through specific historical themes. The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Stations of the Cross, and the history of water and ore offer different ways to discover the place. For planning your trip, it is worth taking a closer look at these highlights: the Baroque furnishings, the paths and chapels, or the recorded history of water and mining.

Church and Baroque Art

The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows was built from 1733 to 1735 to a design by the architect Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer. Its high-quality painted and stucco decoration makes it one of the outstanding examples of Baroque architecture in South Bohemia. The architect, construction period and furnishings give the church a clearly recognizable art-historical character. Those interested in the Baroque period can explore these aspects together: the origins of the building and the artistic design that contributes to its significance.

Stations of the Cross, Chapels and Pilgrimage

The Stations of the Cross run around the church and include a Holy Sepulchre. The church and the layout of the path therefore form a single theme for a visit: the focus is on both the church and the stations along its Way of the Cross. During a pilgrimage documented in 2026, pilgrims paused at the individual stations.

A documented foot pilgrimage on 11 July 2026 passed through Hosín, Rudolfov, Dobrá Voda u Českých Budějovic, Nová Ves and Doudleby before reaching Římov. The two routes differ in scale: the Stations of the Cross run around the church, while the pilgrimage route links several named places in sequence. Dobrá Voda is explicitly named as one of its stops.

The chapels also have different historical dates. The chapel above the spring has had its present appearance since 1830. The chapels along the Stations of the Cross, by contrast, were built between 1837 and 1839. The Stations’ furnishings changed again later: in 1996, the original images were replaced by new works by the academic painter Renata Štolbová. This makes it possible to distinguish chronologically between the present appearance of the spring chapel, the construction of the chapels along the Stations of the Cross, and the later replacement of the images.

Water and Mining History

The water of Dobrá Voda was believed to have healing properties from an early date. There is also a geological connection: ore deposits affected the composition of the water emerging from the rocks in the Dobrá Voda area. Since the mid-16th century, the historic mining area included the extraction of quartz, mainly with pyrite and arsenopyrite, as well as native gold. The traditions surrounding water and mining thus offer a different perspective on Gutwasser from its sacred art, without being separate from the place’s history.

Plan Your Visit

The church is open to visitors all year round. Check the local visitor arrangements before setting out. If you would like to plan your trip around a pilgrimage or event, check the announced dates. This will help you decide whether to focus your visit on the church and its Stations of the Cross or on the other historical themes.

Discover more destinations: Plav, Modrá Hůrka, Kamenný Újezd, Hummeln, Holasovice, Diwtschitz, Vlhlavy, Betschitz

Go to the wider travel overview: Okres České Budějovice.