Slavonice is a small, exceptionally well-preserved Renaissance town in the Jindřichův Hradec District of the South Bohemian Region, Czech Republic, often called the “smaller Telč” for its fairytale-like historic centre. With a population of 2,229 as of January 2025, it sits right on the Austrian border (adjacent to Waldkirchen an der Thaya), about 29 km southeast of Jindřichův Hradec and 63 km east of České Budějovice. Its 45.81 km² territory spans the Křižanov and Javořice Highlands, with the highest point at 695 m; the Slavonický potok stream winds through the town, feeding fishponds in a gently undulating landscape known as “Czech Canada” (Česká Kanada) — rugged, forested hills that feel remote and romantic.
Slavonice’s historic centre is an urban monument reservation and has
been on UNESCO’s Tentative List since 2001 (criteria i, ii, iv). More
than 50 burgher houses in Gothic–Renaissance–Baroque styles line the two
squares and narrow streets. Their narrow medieval frontages were given
lavish Renaissance makeovers after a 1530 fire: stone portals, oriel
windows, stepped gables, and above all sgraffito — the technique of
scratching through layers of coloured plaster to create intricate
black-and-white designs.
You’ll see everything from simple diamond
patterns to full narrative cycles: biblical scenes (Creation of Adam,
Cain and Abel on house No. 518), mythological gods riding clouds,
portraits of rulers, coats of arms, and apocalyptic visions (house No.
517 even preserves a former Protestant prayer room with 1568 wall
paintings). Some interiors still have diamond cellular vaults (houses
459, 479, 480, 520) — a late-Gothic speciality mastered here. The entire
ensemble demonstrates the prosperity and artistic ambition of
15th–16th-century provincial burghers better than almost anywhere else
in Central Europe.
Míru Square & Horní Square — the twin hearts of the town, lined with
sgraffito houses, arcades, and the Marian column.
Church of the
Assumption of the Virgin Mary (between the squares) — its 56 m tower
(1503–1549) is the town’s landmark and offers panoramic views (small
admission).
Gothic Underground — 380 m of hand-carved 13th-century
passages beneath the centre (open July–Aug daily, June/Sept by
arrangement; wear boots — it can be damp).
Town fortifications — two
Renaissance gates (Jilemnická & Dačická) and wall fragments.
Church
of St John the Baptist — 13th/14th-century with late-16th-century
sgraffito façade, now used for cultural events.
WWII Fortification
Museum (J. Žižky 4) — restored bunkers and 2.9 km educational trail.
Pilgrimage Church of Corpus Christi (outside centre) — originally 13th
century, rebuilt after Hussite destruction.
Slavonice is compact and best explored on foot (or by bike — rentals
at Cyklo sport U Čápa). Public transport is limited; the easiest arrival
is by car (≈2 h 15 min from Prague) or direct bus from Prague (≈3 h).
There’s a road border crossing into Austria.
Eat & Drink: Besídka
restaurant (international fare, family-friendly), Café U Nás doma
(homemade cakes).
Stay: Historic pensions such as Besídka Design
Hotel or U Giordanů (Lutheran sgraffito house).
Shopping/Activities:
Mariz Ceramics (workshops in town and Maříž village), Slavonice Fest
(August film & music festival), cycling routes through Czech Canada.
The town hosts “Summer of Culture” with concerts, theatre, and craft
demonstrations. Films such as Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) and
Barefoot (2017) were shot here, adding to its cinematic atmosphere.
Quiet, photogenic, and still relatively undiscovered, Slavonice feels
like stepping into a living open-air museum. Its sgraffito façades,
mysterious underground passages, and borderland setting create a
magical, slightly melancholic charm that rewards anyone who makes the
detour off the usual Czech tourist trail. Whether you come for a
day-trip from Telč or Jindřichův Hradec or stay longer to cycle and
explore the surrounding hills, Slavonice leaves a lasting impression of
Renaissance splendour frozen in time.
Older history
The first written mention of the city
dates from 1260. The original guard settlement, founded in the 12th
century on a medieval country road connecting Prague with Vienna,
belonged to the lords of Hradec (golden five-petalled rose in a blue
field). In the 14th century, the settlement became a town thanks to
magnificent construction. It included two squares (now named Peace
Square and Upper Square), which was surrounded by medieval town
houses. The whole construction was conceived on very narrow plots,
so that the owners of their houses and adjoining farms headed
through the main entrance to the square and the outbuildings to the
rear tracts of their houses. During the 16th century, a significant
part of the city's population leaned towards the Lutheran
Reformation. The Reformed sgraffito decoration of a number of
burgher houses of the then Lutheran population significantly
co-creates the unique atmosphere of the town of Slavonice.
During the Thirty Years' War, the city was looted by Swedish troops.
Moreover, in the years 1680–1681, the Slavonians were plagued by
plague, which claimed many lives. The city recovered from these
hardships and wars at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.
However, not all disasters and catastrophes should end. On March 27,
1750, a large fire broke out in the city, which destroyed a large
part of both squares and 44 houses, along with the city tower. The
decline of the city, which followed these events, was further
deepened by the transfer of the postal route from Vienna to Jihlava
via Znojmo in 1760. House No. 62 was then a switching station on
this route.
On September 7, 1902, the Kostelec u Jihlava -
Slavonice railway line was built and put into operation, as well as
the building of the railway station in Slavonice. A year later, in
1903, Slavonice was connected with the Austrian Waidhofen an der
Thaya and then with the Schwarzenau station on the imperial railway
from Vienna to České Budějovice.
Czechoslovakia
After the
collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918 and the
establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, the city with a
predominantly German population responded by joining the province of
Deutsch Südmähren based in Znojmo. Therefore, the Czechoslovak army
had to be called to the city to subjugate the city to the power of
the new Czechoslovak state. At the time, however, the collapse of
the monarchy posed major problems for local textile factories, which
had lost traditional markets in the former monarchy, and this
situation was exacerbated by the outbreak of the global economic
crisis at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. The electrification of
the city was completed by connecting to the ZME Brno network in
1929. A system of border fortresses was built along the state border
between 1936 and 1938, which have survived to this day and are
maintained in good technical condition and accessible to the public
thanks to enthusiasts. Some of these fortresses are right inside the
city.
After the Munich Agreement, the city was ceded to
Germany in October 1938 and became part of the German Empire.
However, Slavonice did not become part of the Sudetenland on the
western borders of the country, but was annexed to the imperial
county of the Lower Danube (Niederdonau) of neighboring Austria. The
borders between Czechoslovakia and the German Empire were shifted 10
km north of Slavonice, with all the consequences of the expansion of
German Nazism at the time. The Czech population, with few
exceptions, fled inland. On May 9, 1945, the city was liberated by
Red Army troops. Based on the decision of the victorious powers, the
entire German population was displaced in two waves (1945 and 1946)
and the city was inhabited by the Czech population from the
interior.
Development of the city since 1945
In 1953, the
city was included in the so-called border zone, which caused
considerable isolation of the whole area from other civilizations
and very strongly reduced possible tourism in this area. It was not
until 1960, during the reorganization of districts and regions, that
the built-up area of the city was removed from the border zone and
could begin to use tourism. On August 31, 1961, Slavonice was
declared a city monument reserve. Since the administrative reform on
July 1, 1960, Slavonice has belonged to the South Bohemian Region,
Jindřichův Hradec District. As part of the integration of
municipalities, the formerly independent municipalities of
Vlastkovec, Mutišov and Maříž were connected to Slavonice in 1964,
and later, in 1972, also the last connected municipality of Stálkov.
In the period 1945–1989, a water supply system, a sewerage
system, a wastewater treatment plant, a central boiler room, a new
primary school building for 650 pupils with a school canteen and two
gyms (1978), a culture house (1979), and a kindergarten for 120
children 1983), a new fire station, a bus station, a new football
stadium, a skittle alley, a panel housing estate with 126 city and
cooperative flats built and a new residential zone prepared for the
construction of new individual and terraced houses. In this area
(General Svobody and Lebeděvova streets), mostly locals built 77 new
family houses. At this time, local companies, which built apartment
buildings with a total capacity of over 50 flats, contributed
significantly to increasing the number of housing units in the city.
At the end of the 1950s, regular and proper repairs of the historic
city center were also started, especially the facades of the houses
on both Slavonian squares, which at that time were for the most part
state-owned. At the end of this period, the construction of a health
center and a pharmacy was also started.
After 1989, four more
prefabricated prefabricated houses with 56 flats were built.
Individual housing construction did not develop significantly due to
the lack of building plots, but also for economic reasons. The city
continued to build new civic amenities, such as an administrative
building at the football stadium and a nursing home, and a health
center and pharmacy were completed. A multi-purpose playground with
an artificial surface was built at the stadium. The local wood
processing plant built an ecological wood waste incinerator, which
had previously been exported almost useless to a landfill. The
incinerator now produces electricity and heat for the company's own
needs. Every year, the state and the municipality invest
considerable funds for the repair and regeneration of monuments.
Natural gas was introduced to the city in 1999. Reconstructions of
the surfaces of both Slavonice squares were carried out, and in
recent years some of the local roads have also been repaired. It is
gradually being repaired and made accessible to the public by the
city underground. In 2012, the reconstruction of the wastewater
treatment plant worth almost 90 million crowns was completed.