Kraselov and Surroundings

The village of Kraselov is located in the South Bohemian Region, 9 km southwest of Strakonice.

Population: 230 (including the hamlets of Lhota u sv. Anny, Milčice, and Mladotice)

Altitude: 595 meters above sea level – highest point: Mladotický Hill at 703 meters.

Attractions:

Church of St. Lawrence – first mentioned in 1384, with a cruciform layout and originally Gothic design. It was renovated in the Baroque style in 1684, with a fresco of St. Lawrence on the eastern gable. The church contains the tombs of the Lords of Kraselov. A reliquary chest in which Emperor Charles IV kept saintly relics – later gifted to the Vyšehrad provost Bedřich Chanovský of Dlouhá Ves – was transferred from Rábí to Kraselov in July 1696 and became a long-term part of the altar in the church's right side aisle. According to legend, loud noises from the chest signaled the impending death of a member of the Chanovský, Dlouhoveský, or Častoral family.

Pilgrimage Church of St. Anne – Dedicated to St. Anne, this church was built in 1682 on the hill known as "Na Chloumku" by Jan Ignác Dlouhoveský of Dlouhá Ves, a canon and provost of the St. Vitus Chapter, auxiliary bishop, and general vicar of the Prague diocese. Upon completion, he had a statue of St. Anne moved here from the Church of St. Apollinaris in Prague (now kept in the archives of the České Budějovice diocese). He later had a chapel and a residence for a chaplain built near the church – today known as the "House of St. Joachim." In 1761, a spa building was constructed by a nearby healing spring, and a linden tree alley was planted stretching from the Church of St. Anne. In 1967, the oldest linden tree in the alley measured 580 cm in girth.

Fortress – dating back to the second half of the 14th century. In 1645, Adam Záborský of Brloh repaired not only the local Church of St. Lawrence after an invasion by the Buquoy army but also built a small castle and brewery on the ruins of the former fortress. The current appearance is based on the 1837 reconstruction of the castle, which was used as an administrative building for the Dlouhoveský estate. During the second half of the 20th century, the castle served as a facility for the local agricultural cooperative (JZD).

Today, part of the original estate has been extensively renovated, and the former fortress now welcomes guests as the “Penzion U sv. Jana.” Architecturally significant is the entrance to the Kraselov Estate, featuring an early Baroque gate with volute gable, painted with St. John of Nepomuk and the Dlouhoveský family coat of arms. Next to the gate, in the village square of Kraselov, stands a statue of St. John of Nepomuk.

Boží kámen ("God's Stone") – a significant energetic site formed by a cluster of granite stones, with the most worn one believed to have special "power."

Mladotický Hill – at 703 meters above sea level, this is the highest point in the Strakonice region. It is said to have been a pagan worship site, and natural positive energy is still felt there today.