From Bohumilice to Mářský vrch

In the immediate surroundings of Bohumilice, on the hills Křížovice and Staňkova hůrka, remnants of prehistoric fortifications have been discovered. The village itself is also very old, supposedly owned by the chapter of the Prague Church of St. Vitus as early as the 10th century. Another mention dates back to 1353. From the end of the 15th century, Bohumilice belonged to the Malovec family of Chýnov. In 1579, Jan Malovec built the Skalice fortress. After the Thirty Years' War, the fortress was rebuilt into a Renaissance château. Other notable owners included the Sickingen, Thun-Hohenstein and Lumbe of Malonice families. In 1923, the château was bought by Prague industrialist Ferdinand Holoubek. After 1950, it was managed by the State Farms of Vimperk and in 1996, the neglected estate was returned to the Holoubek family. They have since been restoring the château to its original condition. Today, it offers a riding school and related services. There are apartments with private entrances and bathrooms, as well as a conference room for 50 participants. A museum exhibition of traditional breeds of farm animals is also being created on site.

At the château, you will find a 300-year-old linden tree and the chapel of St. John of Nepomuk. The dominant feature of the village is the church, originally built after 1200 and dedicated to St. Martin, later to the Holy Trinity and St. Barbara. From the Gothic structure, a portal and a stone baptismal font remain. The church has a turbulent history – it burned down in 1657 and again in 1815, so its current form dates to 1817–1818. The fire of 1815 was so intense that the church bells melted. The church has since been restored. In front of the entrance are old tombstones of the Malovec family bearing their emblem – half a horse.

The village is also famous for a meteorite that was unearthed in 1829. The total weight of all fragments found was nearly 60 kilograms. These pieces are now displayed in natural science museums around the world – in Vienna, Berlin, or Chicago. The largest piece, weighing 37 kg, is housed in the National Museum in Prague. The writer Karel Klostermann used to visit Bohumilice and wrote the novel Strejček z nebe here. In his novel Ecce Homo, he immortalized the local priest Jan Hanžl. Among notable locals are the two Antonín Lišeks – one became the director of the Museum of the Capital City of Prague, the other the bishop of České Budějovice.