South Bohemian Way

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Vlašim (near the castle, exactly at the endpoint of the East Bohemian Way) → former Dolní Hraničná (Untermarkschlag) on the border with Upper Austria — a village that was demolished in 1956–58
• Length: 215.4 km
• Elevation gain: ↗ 3,469 m / ↘ 3,098 m — 16.1 m per kilometer, the steepest of the four Bohemian-Moravian trails in our network; highest point 991 m before Svatý Tomáš, lowest point 352 m at the Vltava River
• Duration: About 8–10 days (9 official stages; to be honest, the trail takes 9 or 10)
• Waymarking: A yellow scallop shell on a blue background on the signposts of the Klub českých turistů, plus yellow arrows—navigation is actually based on the KČT color bars; with the Camino Ninja app you’re safe (complete route on board)
• Access route: The East Bohemian Way ends at the same kilometer marker where it begins—262.5 km from the Polish border; alternatively, it can be accessed from Prague via Sázava
• Connection: The Innviertler Jakobsweg begins seamlessly at the endpoint—Passau is 89 km and Salzburg 236 km beyond the border
• Ferry: ⚠️ The last leg of the route depends on the Frymburk–Frýdava ferry across Lake Lipno—it only operates from April through November; without it, the 16-kilometer stretch becomes 31 kilometers.
• Accommodation: No hotel chain—a free parsonage (Bechyně), a convent (Kájov), guesthouses, and many seasonal campgrounds; the operator requires reservations at least two days in advance
• Best time: May through September — in April and October, the ferry service is unreliable and most of the campgrounds are closed

Overview

There are Ways of St. James with a religious history—and then there’s this one: He walks right through the city that has abolished the pilgrimage. In the spring of 1420, Jan Žižka founded a group with about 4,000 followers Tábor, named after the Mount of Transfiguration, conceived as a community modeled after the early Church—and the Taborites’ program explicitly called for an end to the veneration of saints, relics, and images. This eliminated the basis for the St. James pilgrimage in South Bohemia, and the consequences were devastating: In 1420 and 1429, the Zlatá Koruna monastery burned down; in 1421, the chapel at Klokoty was destroyed; and in 1423, the Church of St. James in Světlík was plundered. Today, a yellow scallop shell on a blue field adorns those same sites, and Klokoty is the official finish line for Stage 2. No other route in our network so openly flaunts its own contradiction.

You're leaving 215.4 Kilometers by Vlašim to the border with Upper Austria — and the route has two sides to it: The first 137 kilometers to České Budějovice are a roller coaster with no net gain, more than half of which runs through a river valley Lužnice and Vltava, past Tábor, Bechyně, Hluboká Castle, and right across the market square in České Budějovice. After that, it climbs and doesn’t stop: Český Krumlov (UNESCO—the trail runs right past the castle), the pilgrimage site of Kájov, Světlík at 777 meters—and finally a Ferry across Lake Lipno and an elevation of 991 meters, it is next to Bohemia's highest castle. With 16.1 meters of elevation gain per kilometer It is the steepest of the four Bohemian-Moravian routes in our network, second only to the Camino Francés. And it forms the centerpiece of a seamless chain: the East Bohemian Way, this route, the Innviertler Jakobsweg — 566.9 kilometers from the Polish border to Passau, without a single gap.

Abolished in 1420, revived as a pilgrimage route in 1465, demolished in 1958—this route came to an end three times, and yet it still exists

The first break has a schedule and a date. 1420 The Hussites founded Tábor and eliminated the very elements that define the Way of St. James: the veneration of saints, relics, and images. The consequences were immediately felt—Zlatá Koruna was burned in 1420 and 1429, Světlík’s St. James Church was plundered in 1423, and in Klokoty In 1421, the most horrific event occurred. The parish of what is now a place of pilgrimage records it itself, word for word: “Kaple byla pobořena a u fary bylo v roce 1421 upáleno asi 50 členů sekty adamitů.” — the chapel was destroyed, and about fifty Adamites were burned at the rectory. The radicals burned their own radicals at a site that today Official Stage 2 Finish Line of this pilgrimage route. And the future Pope Pius II, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, recorded the founding of the “anti-pilgrimage” city with a sentence that has been preserved in translation: “He fortified it and ordered everyone to build their house as they had previously built their tent.” A camp that becomes a city—you pass through it at kilometer 55.5.

The return can be scheduled just like a timetable. 1437 the monks return to Zlatá Koruna, 1452 Tábor submits to King Jiří of Poděbrady — and on November 25, 1465 is broken by his own brother-in-law Jaroslav Lev z Rožmitálu set out for Santiago with about forty men. His companion, Václav Šašek of Bířkov, kept a diary—one of the great travel chronicles of the Middle Ages; they returned via Finisterre, Portugal, northern Italy, and the Austrian lands—following exactly the same route that this pilgrimage takes today. Forty-five years after the pilgrimage was abolished, the royal family went on a pilgrimage again. And this shows just how big it became Kájov At kilometer 176.8: The pilgrimage site, whose name, according to tradition, derives from I'm sorry — “penance” — whose main altar is situated above a healing spring, attracted 20,000 pilgrims a year at the end of the 17th century, and in the first half of the 18th century 40.000. That's the number that shows what was lost twice.

This is because the third break occurred most recently, and its name is still reflected in the place names today. Starting in 1946 The German-speaking population of the border strip is resettled; after 1950, the area becomes a restricted military zone, and a radar station operates at the Vítkův hrádek castle ruins. Between 1956 and 1958 Most of the houses are being torn down—Svatý Tomáš has shrunk from 207 residents in 32 houses (1840) to about 20 in 11 today, and the last two places along your route have since been named bývalý Otov and bývalá Dolní Hraničná: formerly Otov, formerly Untermarkschlag. At the same time, a second process of destruction was underway, this time caused by water: the Lipno Reservoir was created between 1952 and 1959, and on the December 30, 1955, at 2:30 a.m. The Vltava River will be diverted into its new channel—Dolní Vltavice will be submerged, parts of Frymburk will be flooded, and two cemeteries will be relocated. In fact, a plan had been in place since 1961 to drain two-thirds of the lake in the event of war. This Way of St. James does not end at a specific place. It ends where someone once was. — and right there, the next path begins.

Other Names

In Czech, the trail is called Jihočeská svatojakubská cesta, in short Jihočeská trasa — the South Bohemian Route. In our database, it is listed as South Bohemian Way, just like its neighbors, the East Bohemian Way and the Moravian-Silesian Way, and the name says exactly what it is: the South Bohemian route, one of six marked Czech St. James’s Ways (totaling 1,378 kilometers, maintained by the association ULTREIA z.s with the Klub českých turistů) — and the only one that ends at a border beyond which the route continues immediately. Three numerical puzzles to wrap things up: The roadside sign sometimes says “213,” sometimes “216 kilometers”; the total distance of its own series of stages adds up to 214.4 — the actual measured distance is 215.4 Kilometers, we'll stick with that. And blanik.net shows the route ending in Svatý Tomáš; in fact, there are still 8.3 kilometers beyond that to the border. Also, don't confuse this with: Tábor is the name of a city, not a “camp,” and České Budějovice That's what it's called — "Budweis" is the German form, not a substitute.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not For

This route is for you if you’re looking for a varied experience rather than just a long ride: first rolling hills including Sagenberg, then 115 kilometers through a river valley, followed by the UNESCO site in Český Krumlov—and to top it off, an ascent into the Bohemian Forest that ends at 991 meters next to Bohemia’s highest castle. It’s also ideal if you like cities— Tábor (Hussite town from 1420, underground passages), České Budějovice (brewing rights since 1265), Bechyně, Český Krumlov — and if you want to travel on a budget: A bed at a guesthouse often costs 300 to 700 crowns, but the rectory in Bechyně accommodates pilgrims with a credencial for free.

To be honest, though, it's not the place for you if you're looking for the everyday life of a hostel and the company of fellow pilgrims. There is no chain of hostels — a rectory, a convent, a pilgrim hostel in Tábor, and otherwise guesthouses and a striking number of seasonal campgrounds; there are simply no statistics on the number of pilgrims on this route—it’s that new. It’s also not for you if you want to rely on signs: The yellow-and-blue scallop shell is a sticker on the signposts of the Klub českých turistů; actual navigation is guided by their colored bars — With the Camino Ninja app you’re on the right track here. And expect silence: There are almost no people living along the last thirty kilometers, and the last two towns no longer exist. Those seeking solitude will find it here; those who aren’t looking for it should know this beforehand. The final leg also depends on a ferry with a seasonal schedule—you plan around such gaps in advance, not while you’re on the road.

Route & Landscape

You'll start in Vlašim at the castle—exactly where the East Bohemian Way ends. The first day is also the steepest of the entire route: 691 meters of elevation gain through the Podblanicko, the hilly countryside around the Blaník, where, according to Czech folklore, the Knights of St. Wenceslas sleep, past the Romanesque St. Bartholomew’s Church in Kondrac and the ruins of Šelmberk Castle, on to Mladá Vožice. Then the trail descends into the river valley and stays there for 115 kilometers: the Lužnice through Tábor and the pilgrimage site Klokoty, past the castle ruins of Příběnice and Dobronice, on to Bechyně; at Týn nad Vltavou it flows into the Vltava — that is where the lowest point, at 352 meters, is located. Upstream along the Moldau River come Purkarec, Hluboká nad Vltavou with its neo-Gothic castle in the Windsor style and České Budějovice (km 137) — The track passes right by the town hall on the main square.

From Budweis, the trail leaves the plains and climbs the 639-meter elevation gain: through the Moldau Gorge with its castle ruins Dívčí Kámen and the Celtic oppidum of Třísov to the Cistercian monastery Zlatá Koruna (1263), then as the shortest and steepest leg of the route to Český Krumlov — A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the track passes right by the castle — and up to the pilgrimage site Kájov. This is where the Bohemian Forest begins: Světlík at 777 meters, with the last St. James Church on Czech soil, down to the Lipno Reservoir according to Frymburk. The final stage begins with a Ferry ride to Frýdava, climbing past Přední Výtoň and the highest castle in Bohemia to 991 Meters and ends behind bývalý Otov and bývalá Dolní Hraničná — two villages that were demolished between 1956 and 1958 — on the border with Upper Austria. From there, it's 89 kilometers to Passau.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

Nine stages are the operator's official itinerary; ten is the more comfortable option (split Stage 4 in Týn nad Vltavou and spend half a day in Krumlov)—so plan accordingly 8 to 10 days, to be honest, more like 9 or 10. The kilometers listed below are based on our track measurements and marked as “approx.”; the total distance measures 215.4 km. Technically, nothing is difficult: country and forest trails, riverbanks, and asphalt in cities. The distribution is challenging, and it goes against intuition: The toughest day of climbing is Day 1 — 691 meters of elevation gain, more than twice that of the final border stage —, and the shortest stage is the steepest (Zlatá Koruna → Kájov, 33 meters of elevation gain per kilometer). But the most important factor to consider comes at the very end: the Ferry on Stage 9.

1. Vlašim → Mladá Vožice — approx. 28 km — ⚠️ the day with the steepest climb on the entire route (691 Hm), the Blaník hills, Kondrac, and the Šelmberk castle ruins with the first stamp box.
2. Mladá Vožice → Klokoty (Tábor) — about 29 km — sparsely populated countryside, Pohnání, then through Tábor (Žižkovo náměstí, Underground, Kotnov) to the pilgrimage site Klokoty, 1.7 km past the town.
3. Klokoty → Bechyně — approx. 27 km — the most peaceful day: the Lužnice Valley with the castle ruins of Příběnice and Dobronice and the chain bridge at Stádlec. Destination with a free parsonage.
4. Bechyně → Purkarec — about 30 km — the longest leg; in Týn nad Vltavou This is where the Lužnice meets the Vltava; this is the lowest point (352 m). Can be divided into Týn (approx. 14 + 17 km).
5. Purkarec → České Budějovice — approx. 23 km — the flattest day (184 Hm): Karlův hrádek castle ruins, castle Hluboká, then straight across Budweis's main square.
6. České Budějovice → Zlatá Koruna — approx. 24 km — St. James Church in Boršov nad Vltavou, Vltava Gorge with Dívčí Kámen, Destination: Cistercian monastery founded in 1263.
7. Zlatá Koruna → Kájov — approx. 16 km — ⚠️ the shortest and steepest stage (506 Hm over 15.5 km): Vltava River meanders, Český Krumlov (UNESCO), then up to the Kájov pilgrimage church.
8. Kájov → Frymburk — approx. 23 km — the Bohemian Forest begins: Slavkov, Světlík to 777 m, home to the country's last St. James Church, and down to the Lipno Reservoir.
9. Frymburk → bývalá Dolní Hraničná (border) — approx. 16 km — ⚠️ the ferry section: Ferry to Frýdava (only April–November; otherwise, a 31-km detour!), Přední Výtoň, highest point 991 m, Svatý Tomáš — and two abandoned villages all the way to the border.

If you have ten days, split Stage 4 at Týn nad Vltavou and turn Stage 7 into a half-day hike with an afternoon visit to the UNESCO site in Český Krumlov—the most comfortable way to do this route. Eight days is mathematically possible, but not practical: that would require combining Stages 7 and 8 into the steepest section of the entire route (38.5 km, 927 m elevation gain) and rushing through Krumlov. My honest recommendation: This route takes nine or ten days, not eight.

Highlights Along the Way

• Blaník (at km 12) — the nation’s legendary mountain: The knights of St. Wenceslas slumber there until the land is in dire straits. An observation tower on Velký Blaník, the ruins of a chapel on Malý Blaník—and the regional page asks: “Věděli jste, že od Blaníku můžete dojít až do Santiaga de Compostela?” It’s still nearly 3,000 kilometers from here.
• Tábor (km 55,5) — founded in the spring of 1420 by Jan Žižka, named after the Mountain of the Transfiguration. Žižkovo náměstí, the Hussite Museum, the 15th-century underground complex, Kotnov Castle, the Church of St. Philip and St. James — and the Jordán Dating from 1492, the first dam of its kind in Central Europe: the River of Baptism as a waterworks.
• Klokoty (km 57,2, right on the trail) — A place of pilgrimage with a tradition of Marian apparitions dating back to around 1389 and a miraculous spring; destroyed in 1421, during which about 50 Adamites were burned at the rectory. Rebuilt in the Baroque style beginning in 1701 by Benedictines from Montserrat; today, it is Stop 2.
• Bechyně (km 83,8) — Franciscan monastery, castle, synagogue, Jewish cemetery — and the rectory, where pilgrims with their credencial free includes.
• Týn nad Vltavou (km 97,7) — This is where the Lužnice meets the Vltava; this is where the Church of St. James stands, with the stamp in its bell tower; and this is where the trail reaches its lowest point: 352 meters.
• Hluboká nad Vltavou (km 125,8, a good 100 m from the trail) — the neo-Gothic castle in the Windsor style, one of the most famous in Bohemia; the trail runs right past it.
• České Budějovice (km 137) — On March 10, 1265, Knight Hirzo handed over the staked-out town layout; in the same year, Přemysl Otakar II granted the right to brew beer. Six hundred thirty years later, this led to a global trademark dispute: In 1876, Adolphus Busch founded “Budweiser” in the United States—“to produce beer with the same quality, colour and taste as beer produced in Budějovice” he stated for the record. The track passes right by the town hall on náměstí Přemysla Otakara II.
• Dívčí Kámen (km 156,2, a good 100 m from the trail) — Castle ruins overlooking the Vltava Gorge, with the Celtic oppidum of Třísov nearby.
• Zlatá Koruna (km 161,3) — Cistercian monastery, founded in 1263 by Přemysl Otakar II and settled by monks from Heiligenkreuz; originally named Svatá Koruna; the name “Zlatá Koruna” is first attested in 1315. Burned down by the Hussites in 1420 and 1429, repopulated in 1437, and dissolved by Joseph II in 1785—today a National Cultural Monument.
• Český Krumlov (km 170,7) — UNESCO World Heritage Site; castle (right on the trail), Trojklášteří, St. Vitus Church, and the Baroque castle theater with its original furnishings.
• Kájov (km 176,8, right on the trail) — A pilgrimage church built over a healing spring, first mentioned in 1263 in the founding charter of Zlatá Koruna; rebuilt in the Late Gothic style from 1471 to 1488. According to tradition, the name comes from I'm sorry — “make penance”; 20,000 pilgrims per year during the Baroque period, and 40,000 later. The convent welcomes pilgrims in exchange for a donation.
• Světlík (km 188,3, 777 m) — Church of St. James the Greater, the last St. James’s Church on Czech soil: a market town attested since 1258, plundered by the Hussites in 1423, expanded in 1663, rebuilt in 1872–74 — and it has always remained St. James’s.
• Vítkův hrádek and Svatý Tomáš (km 206–207) — the highest castle in Bohemia (1,035 m; used as a radar station during the Cold War; a viewing platform since 2006; open in the summer; 50 CZK), next to the Chapel of the Body of Christ from 1257/58 — During its restoration beginning in 1991, 14th-century wall paintings were discovered. Subsequently: bývalý Otov and bývalá Dolní Hraničná, two villages that have not existed since 1956–58. The last 2.6 kilometers of this trail run right through them.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

Vlašim is not a stopover, but a junction: The East Bohemian Way ends exactly where this trail begins—not “nearby,” but a seamless handover. Those coming from the north walk 262.5 kilometers from Libná on the Polish border through Broumov, Hradec Králové, and Kutná Hora, and simply continue on from Vlašim; in total, that’s 477.9 kilometers from the Polish border to Upper Austria. Incidentally, the strongest evidence that pilgrimages were once made through Bohemia in this way is the country’s earliest known scallop shell—a Pecten maximus from Santiago found in Most—which originates from northern Bohemia. It wasn’t found along this exact route, but it came from precisely the direction from which this feeder route originates.

The second feed axis is Prague. The operator suggests a route from Prague as an alternative to starting in Vlašim; hiking reports confirm the Prague → Sázava → Vlašim route—a documented approach route, not a separate marked trail. Prague itself is the hub of the Czech network: That is where the Zittau Way From Görlitz, where the Všerubská and Železná routes begin heading toward Bavaria, and from Prague to Santiago—according to the operator, the distance is about 2,800 kilometers. Getting started is easy: Vlašim is located a good 60 kilometers southeast of Prague and can be reached by regional train and bus in about an hour and a half.

Continue the pilgrimage?

This path ends at a border—and right beyond it, the next one begins. The Innviertler Jakobsweg starts practically at the same spot and runs 236.5 kilometers through Aigen im Mühlkreis, Rohrbach, and Untergriesbach to He passed (89 kilometers past the border) and on through Schärding and the Innviertel to Salzburg. That’s exactly how the Czech operator describes it: from the border, continuing “towards Santiago via Passau”. For those who only need one more night’s lodging: In Aigen-Schlägl, a few kilometers past the border, the pilgrim hostel at the Schlägl Abbey Pilgrims with a credencial for 41 euros — a good place to end a stage that passed through two abandoned villages.

And Salzburg It branches off: That is where the The Pre-Alpine Way of St. James (255.7 km to Hohenpeißenberg), and there the The Way of St. James in Austria through (853 km from Wolfsthal near Vienna to Rankweil in Vorarlberg). Anyone who walks the entire Bohemian route—the East Bohemian Way, the South Bohemian Way, and the Innviertler Jakobsweg—will travel from the Polish border to Salzburg 714.4 kilometers without a single gap ahead of them. And at the very end of each of these chains lies the same path: the The French Way from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

Preparation & Practical Information

First, the ferry—because your last day depends on it. Stage 9 begins with a ferry ride Frymburk → Frýdava across the Lipno Reservoir — and it runs only from April through November. If she doesn't race, the 16-kilometer stage will become one of 31 kilometers via Lipno nad Vltavou, which means almost an extra day. Check the schedule before you book your last night—that’s the toughest planning decision on this route, and it all depends on a notice posted there. For the same reason, the best time is May through September: In April and October, not only is the ferry unreliable, but a significant portion of the lodging options are seasonal campgrounds—and the last thirty kilometers are at elevations ranging from 700 to 991 meters in the Bohemian Forest, where it gets cold early and wet late.

Navigation: Since the 2018 agreement between ULTREIA z.s. and the Klub českých turistů, they have been sticking Yellow scallops in a blue field on the hiking trail signs, along with yellow arrows. But the seashell is a sticker, not a sign—the actual directions are provided by the KČT-Farbbalken (mostly red, with some blue, green, and yellow sections). If you're only looking for shells, you'll get lost: Take the Camino Ninja app — it has the complete route of this way on board — and pick up the operator's brochure (2025 edition). The Credencial Available at ULTREIA (obchod.ultreia.cz); waiting along the way ten stamping stations — eight stamp boxes from Šelmberk to Svatý Tomáš, plus the information centers in Hluboká and České Budějovice.

Accommodations: There is no hostel chain, and our database does not yet list any pilgrim hostels here—what we do have is the operator's list: the Rectory in Bechyně (free with a Credencial), which Convent of the Sisters of Mercy in Kájov (Donation, advance registration), the Pilgrimage House Poutní dům Emauzy in Tábor, as well as guesthouses and many campgrounds. The operator is very clear: “Accommodation must always be reserved at least two days in advance”—always book accommodations at least two days in advance. Take this seriously, especially in Bechyně, Kájov, and Frymburk. The easiest way to plan your days is directly in the Camino Ninja app, where you can put together your stages and schedule your overnight stays at the same time.

What the journey will cost you

This is one of the most affordable options on our network (as of August 2026). According to the operator's price list, a bed in a guesthouse usually costs 300 to 700 CZK per person (about 12 to 28 euros), campgrounds 80 to 280 CZK, and two places to stay cost next to nothing: the Bechyně rectory (free with a Credencial) and the Kájov convent (voluntary donation). For nine nights, you'll stay at about 150 to 220 euros, if you stay at guesthouses—and significantly less if you mix in campgrounds and church-run lodgings. On top of that, there’s the Credencial, the ferry ticket in Frymburk, and a few admission fees that are well worth it: the Hussite Museum and the underground passages in Tábor, Hluboká Castle, Zlatá Koruna Monastery, the castle theater in Český Krumlov—and Vítkův hrádek for 50 CZK, or about two euros for the highest castle in Bohemia. Once you cross the border, prices go up: the pilgrim hostel at Schlägl Abbey costs 41 euros—those who continue on through Austria can expect to pay about twice that per night.

Getting Here

To Vlašim Do you come via Prague: The starting point is located a good 60 kilometers southeast of the capital and is accessible by regional train and bus; the trail begins at the castle in the city center. If you want to hike the entire northern section right away, start instead at the East Bohemian Way on the Polish border. Along the way, this route can be broken down unusually well: Tábor (km 55.5) is located at the railway junction on the Prague–Vienna/Linz line and is the best spot to reach the halfway point; České Budějovice (km 137) has long-distance connections to Prague, Linz, Vienna, and Plzeň; to Bechyně, Zlatá Koruna and Český Krumlov The train goes to Týn nad Vltavou, and the bus goes to Hluboká, and Frymburk The Lipno Reservoir is accessible by bus.

The Return trip from the border This is the most time-consuming part, and you should know that beforehand: There is no town or train station at the end of the line — just a boundary marker and two vanished villages. Basically, you're either walking along the Innviertler Jakobsweg Continue on to Aigen-Schlägl and Rohrbach in Upper Austria (with bus service to Linz), or you can arrange your return trip from Frymburk or Český Krumlov Take the Lipno buses to České Budějovice. Don't plan your last day as your departure day.

• Getting to the starting point: Prague (airport + long-distance train), then continue by regional train or bus to Vlašim (~60 km, about an hour and a half). Start at the castle.
• Intermediate stops: Tábor (train: Prague–Vienna/Linz, best connection), České Budějovice (rail hub: Prague, Linz, Vienna, Plzeň), Bechyně/Zlatá Koruna/Český Krumlov (train from Tábor or Budějovice), Týn nad Vltavou and Hluboká (bus), Frymburk (bus, plus boat and ferry service on Lake Lipno).
• Return trip: There is no train station at the end of the route—either continue on the Innviertler Jakobsweg to Aigen-Schlägl/Rohrbach (bus to Linz) or return via Frymburk/Český Krumlov (Lipno buses) to České Budějovice.