Volary: Log House Architecture, Trails and Culture

Volary lies at an elevation of 760 metres in a basin whose landscape is shaped by meadows, plains and forests. The town offers a range of starting points for planning your trip: log house architecture, a museum, historic memorial sites and trails through the Šumava landscape. You can focus on architectural history, learn more about the history of the town, or explore specific routes and recurring events.

A basin landscape in the Bohemian Forest

The Volary Basin lies between the thousand-metre-high mountains of the Bohemian Forest. Volary is located in the Šumava Protected Landscape Area and on the border of Šumava National Park. Running and Nordic walking trails also pass through the protected landscape area. The public trail network covers 32 kilometres in total; individual routes offer different thematic focuses and have their own distances. When planning, you can weigh up outdoor activity against a clearly defined excursion theme.

Log houses, half-timbered buildings and a church

Volary’s old town is an urban conservation area known for its log house architecture. In the northern part, numerous preserved Alpine-style log and half-timbered houses stand along the stream. If you are particularly interested in these building styles, the “Alpská architektura ve Volarech” route offers a town-focused way to explore them: it leads through the town and provides insights into historic Alpine-style houses. St. Catherine’s Church is an early Baroque landmark on the square. The old town, the houses by the stream and the church represent different architectural features to explore in Volary.

Museum and historic memorial sites

The Volarské muzeum is housed in one of the historic log houses. Its permanent exhibitions include “Pochod smrti”, “Staré Volary ve fotografii”, “Zlatá stezka”, “Střípky z historie” and “Křížové cesty”. Their themes range from local history and photographs to Stations of the Cross and the memory of the death march. One specific memorial site is the memorial to the victims of the death march in Volary: it commemorates 95 Jewish women who died there on 4 May 1945 while being evacuated from the Ravensbrück and Helmbrechts concentration camps. The Stations of the Cross at the foot of Kamenáč also have a turbulent history: after falling into disrepair following 1945, they were restored in 2008.

Routes by length and theme

The local “Alejí na vyhlídku” route is four kilometres long and has an elevation gain of 110 metres. It offers views of the Volary Basin and the border mountains. Another specific distance is given for the “Menhiry” circular route, at 3.5 kilometres. This makes the “Alejí na vyhlídku” route half a kilometre longer; its elevation gain is also specified. The “Lukami pod Bobíkem a Jedlovou horou” route leads to historic wooden hay sheds and offers the chance to see a former drying facility for cattle hides. The routes therefore differ not only in length, but also in the sights you encounter along the way.

Recurring events

At the annual Volarské slavnosti dřeva, several dozen craftspeople demonstrate old crafts, some of which have nearly been forgotten. The festival also includes a traditional march in wooden clogs. Noc kostelů is a different kind of event: this annual public event opens churches and other religious spaces in the evening and at night for guided tours, concerts and gatherings. If you are planning your trip around a particular event, check its dates in advance.

Whether you are interested in the Alpine-style houses, the museum’s themes, the trails or traditional crafts, these highlights can help you get to know Volary as a destination. You can then look for hotels in Volary for your stay.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Milesice, Svatá Maří, Zbytiny, Ckyne, Lužice U Netolic, Konopiste, Krtely, Strážný

For the main travel overview: Okres Prachatice.