Towards the end of the 19th century there appeared first suggestions to reconstruct the lake, which used to be in this scenery in the Primeval Ages. In the river-basin of the Vltava, just between its spring and Čertova stěna (Devil´s Wall), there should have been built 26 dams, which would hold back dangerous spates. The construction of the dam began as late as after the World War II; it was in progress from 1950 to 1959. Firstly there was built an earth-fill dam of 25 m in height and 282 m in length. The filling of the lake was commenced in February 1958 and owing to the strong thaw the valley was watered within several days. In the underground power station (in the depth of 160m) there are situated two Francis turbines with the power of 2x60 MW. Water flows from the power station through a long tunnel (3,6km) to a distribution reservoir Lipno II. In 1959 there were delivered two motor boats to Lipno and the banks were adjusted, in the then summer the first recreation season began. Nowadays, many ferries join the left and the right bank of the lake, which used to be an inapproachable froniter area. The Lipenské lake is from many reasons called “the Czech lake“.

It is situated approximately 1 km from the village Humenice. It is a gothic stronghold near Nové Hrady built at the end of the 15th century by Vilém Pouzar of Michnice. It is a double-floor building consisting of four wings with an octagonal turret and a partly well-preserved walling ditch.

This town was known as a mining centre of graphite in the 19th century. You can find here a former brewery; renaissance farm buildings; a castle dating from 1800, which was several times rebuilt; a state fishery plant where trouts are bred and the island Tajvan, which is visible in the Lipenské lake southern from the railway station. The island has been proclaimed a nature preserve because of the water birds and little fauna.

The town was established by the king Přemysl Otakar II in 1265. During the Hussite wars it belonged to the confirmed enemies of calix and it remained faithful to the imperial catholic party even during the uprising of 1618. In 1832 the first horse railway was established connecting Budweis and Linc. It was the very first railway on the european continent.

The historical core of the town is a protected site and it preserved a ground plan with a square ranking among the biggest in Bohemia. The square is lined with burgess houses built in gothic, renaissance and baroque styles with an arcade. However, the dominating site of the town open to public is the gothic-rennaisance 72 m high Black Tower built during 1549-1578. The original town fortification is evident from the parts of walls with the towers Železná panna (Iron Virgin), Rabštejn tower, the round bastion Otakarka and the Solná branka (Salt Gate). The renaissance meat shops dating from 1554, in which there are restaurants nowadays, are a sought after site. In Budweis there is also the St Nicholas´s Cathedral dating from the 13th century. It is a three-aisled site rebuilt into late Gothic and Baroque styles.Since 1748 this cathedral has been a bishop´s cathedral. The three-aisled Basilica of Sacrifice of Virgin Mary of the Dominican monastery with the bellfry White Tower dating from 1265 is worth visiting as well. The South Bohemian museum was established in 1877. It contains vast collections of nature, primeval ages, middle ages, the Hussite times etc.

The original castle of the kin Vítkovci was built to protect the wade which was a part of the way to Linc. During the reign of Peter I of Rožmberk the so called Upper Castle was built. It was connected with the Lower Castle via a bridge leading into the staircase tower Máselnice. In the 15th century (during the reign of Oldřich of Rožmberk) the development of the castle continued by the construction of the three-wing palace. During the reign of Vilém of Rožmberk an important building period at the castle began. Old renaissance frescos with scenes from the Old Testament have been preserved from this period. The manor of Krumlov was sold ( because of debts) to Rudolf II by the last Rožmberk noblemen and in 1662 the manor was given to the House of Eggenberg. Towards the end of the 17th century a castle garden with a pond was established and the pleasure house Bellárie was built. At that time all the property was gained by the House of Schwarzenberg.The construction of the riding hall in 1747 was followed by the Masquerade hall, the cascade fountain and a new building of the castle theatre. Since the second half of the 18th century the Schwarzenberg family ceased to use the Krumlov Castle as their permanent residence and therefore probably the interior has remained in its original state. The other part of the castle tower is formed by a spire of the St Vitus´s Church, which contains the tombs of Vilém of Rožmebrk and his third wife Ann Marry, a countess of Báden. This castle is as well (except from Rožmberk castle) haunted by the White lady.

Český Krumlov is one of the world´s heritage sites of UNESCO. At the same time, it is the second most well-preserved hisotoric town in Bohemia ( after Prague). Český Krumlov includes many medieval houses, of which excels for example the buildings of town hall and of museum, the Krčín house decorated with paintings with alchemystical themes, the building of the Rose Hotel, the late gothic Kaplanka etc.

You can also visit the Museum of Waxwork, Muzeum of marionettes, the artistic centre of Egon Schiele or the House of Photography. City guided tour is also available ( the tickets can be obtained at the Info centre at the town square).

It is situated approximately 4 km southeast of Křemž. Dívčí Kámen consists of ruins of a castle in a nature preserve. The original castle on the rock named Dívčí Kámen was finished around 1360. In 1394 Václav II stayed on it for a short time but involuntarily, as he was kept there as a prisoner. At that time the castle was a permanent residence of Oldřich of Rožmberk. The rumour says that if you greet a dwarf in spring, who sneezes loudly, he will richly reward you with something.

Frymburk is a quaint town at the bank of Lipenká dam, which caused partly flooding of the town. The town was established on a trading way from Austria to Bohemia in the 13th century. From that time dates also the castle of Saint Bartoloměj (1277) which was rebuilt in late gothic style in the 16th century and then redecorated in baroque style. At the square you can see historic buildings with facades from the 19th and 20th centuries, a plaque pillar dating from 1735, a square fountain with a five-petals rose from 1676 and a pillory with a bell from 1651. There is a ferry going from Frymburk to former Frýdava. You can also go on a cruise from Frymburk around Hruštice to Černá in Pošumaví, where the lake is the widest.

The chateau of Hluboká was originally founded as a guarding castle in the mid 13th century. It was rebuilt into a chateau by the Schwarzenbergs. Its original name was Fronburg and it belonged to the House of Vítkovec. At that time, Záviš from Falkenštejn was interested in the castle and thus he seated his brother on the castle. Záviš was accused of treason and the castle was devolved to Václav II because of whom Záviš was executed (1290). During the reign of Jan of Luxemburg the castle belonged to Vilém of Landštejn, but Jan´s son Karel IV bought it back. Hluboká belonged later to Vilém of Pernštejn (1490) who costly restored the castle. In 1562, Jáchym of Hradec bought the castle and had it rebuilt into a Renaissance chateau. However, the renovation of the castle was capital-intensive to such an extent that the Lords of Hradec had to sell it to the House of Malovec in 1596. But they lost the property and in 1622, the Spanish general Don Balthasar de Marradasin gained the castle. Finally, the castle was bought by the Schwarzenbergs and they had the castle rebuilt in the Baroque style. In 1744, Hluboká was occupied by the Prussians who extensively damaged the castle. In the second half of the 19th century, the chateau gained its present appearance after the original castle was almost entirely destroyed. The current appearance resembles the Windsor castle in England. In 1940, the chateau was seized by the Nazis and later on by the state. You can visit the Zoo Ohrada, which is situated near Hluboká nad Vltavou. Ohrada was originally a hunting-lodge built in the Baroque style during 1708 – 1721. It stands on the shore of the Munický pond in the middle of an enclosed park. There is also a Forest and Hunting Museum with raft, fishing and agricultural expositions.

This ski resort is situated near the border of the Czech Republic with Austria on the Austrian territory; it is cca 7km by the beeline from Nová Pec. Concerning its size, it is approximately twice the size of Saint Peter ant it belongs to the biggest and the best ski resorts in Austria out of the Alpes. Thanks to snow cannons it is an ideal place for skiing throughout the winter season in the altitude of 934-1.338 metres. There are 3 modern lifts (benches for 4 people) and other 7 lifts; there as many as 13 slopes with great skiing conditions. You can find there also a snowpark and a children´s park, a skiing school, a rent house, modern systems of dispatching and many other local services. There is a wonderful view of Šumava and Lipno from the top of Hochficht.

This town dates back to the 13th century. It was burnt up several times. The church of saint Kateřina was originally built in the early Gothic style; in 1487, it was rebuilt into late Gothic style and in 1900-1901 a tower was built to it. On the place you can see an extant octagonal pillory dating form 1549, which was used for measuring corn by the means of stone bowls. Together with it, a set of fountains is extant. In 1992, a famous tradition of Passion plays dating back to the 13th century was renewed (the plays take place in the area on the upper edge of the town). You can also visit a local small museum in Hořice.

Horní Planá used to be the living market place on the business journey from the then Austria to South Bohemia. The church of saint Markéta (early Gothic) was several times expanded. There is also a gothic statue of Madonna from the 15th century and renaissance wall paintings from the 16th century. The house number 21 was the birthplace of Adalbert Stifter (1805 – 1868). Today, there is a memorial hall devoted to him. After the World War, the town was displaced and almost abandoned, until the building of the Lipenská dam. If you are interested in glass manufacture, you should visit the glass-works TASTA in Milná near Horní Planá.

In this small town, the preacher and religious reformer Master Jan Hus was born. His house is situated on Husova street, 36. The house is a national cultural monument, in which there is an exposition with the room of Jan Hus extant in the original condition. Not far from this place, there is a memorial of Jan Hus from K.Lidický from 1958. The place of Husinec is famous for its City Hall (1) with late-Gothic porch, the Church of Saint Cross from the 14th century and the late-Gothic house (number 103). Above the town on the Blanice river, the Husinecká dam dating from1934-39 is situated, which is the source of drinking water for Prachatice.

This small town established as a glass making village in the valley of Hot Vltava belongs to the most beautiful towns of Šumava (the Bohemian Forest). The local glass-works ceased to exist after an unsuccessful privatization in 1990, but before that it belonged to one of the best in Europe. The products can be seen in the local glass-works museum. Nowadays, several small glass-works operate. In Lenora, you can also find a local oven for baking bread dating from the first half of the 19th century, workers´ houses dating from the time of the establishment of the glass-works, timbered houses, a sheltered wooden bridge over the river, which was used for the regulation of floated timber, a castle from the 19th century belonging to the House of Králíkovi (who were also involved in glass making) and a memorial of a glass-making master and a bandmaster A.Harthauer. Recently, the bakers from Lenora have renewed the tradition of baking bread in the local oven. The bread is baked each last Saturday in a month, from April until December, and thanks to the sponsors you can enjoy not only the bread there, but also buns, cakes and Lenora´s pancakes.

Loučovice was established as a village of the vyšebrodský cloister in the 14th century. It became an important place after the establishment of the local papermills and the railway from the village Rybník to Lipno above Vltava. One of the papermills ( the Vltavský mill) was established in 1884-86 and until 1986 napkins, wrapping paper and sulphite pulps were manufactured there. The manufacture has been recently renewed and it produces paper sanitary needs. The second one ( St Prokop) from 1901 manufactured cardboard boxes. On the right bank of the river you can find the Gothic church of Saint Oldřich dating from 1361 and on the left bank you can find the Gothic chapel of St Prokop dating from the same year.

The Gothic castle stands on the river Stropnice near the Stropnice town. It was built in th 13th century on the place of the old castle to protect the business journey to Austria. The castle´s owner was the House of Vítkovci, in the 14th century Nové Hrady was gained by Villiam of Landštejn, whose son sold it to the House of Rosenberg. In 1425, the castle was burnt up together with the town because of the Hussite wars. Another disaster came in 1467, when the castle was attacked by Zdeněk of Šternberk. However, it was not the last destruction of the castle. In 1573, the tower of the castle fell after the blow-up of the gun powder. The House of Rosenberg did not manage to repair the castle and in 1590 the earthquake damaged the castle. At that time, the castle was inherited by the Švamberks and they repaired it so perfectly, that it resisted the attack of the emperor´s infantry in 1619. Nevertheless, in the same year, the castle was seized by the general Buquoy, who gained it from Ferdinand II and his family held the castle for 3 centuries. During that time, it was thoroughly repaired and rebuilt. The House of Buquoy lost it as late as 1945.

The town was established after 1310. In 1381, it gained the law of import, storing and sell of salt. It was establihsed on the business journey to Bavory, called for its rate of profit "Golden". In the times of the fullest development, around 1200 packhorses wandered on the journey bringing to Prachatice not only salt, but also expensive fabrics, sea fish, southern fruits, spices and wine. They exported corn, wool, leather, honey, hops and the well-known brandy to Bavory. In 1420, Prachatice was burnt up by the Hussite and in1501, the new owners were the Rosenbergs. In the 16th century, the town was damaged by fire and after that, the town houses were rebuilt and decorated by sgraffitos. Many houses in the town with remarkable sgraffito decorations have been extant ( the house of Rumpál, the house of Hus, bookman´s school and many others). In the church of Saint Jakub there is a notable Baroque altar and a Gothic tracery vault. In 1811, saint Jan Nepomuk Neumann was born in this town. He was a bishop of Philadelphia, who was the only American to be canonizated (1997).

This town was originally a hermitage with a chapel. Later on, a late-Gothic church of saint Filip and Jakub was established there. The building of the monastery of the Order of the Minims was not finished and what is left of it is only a chamber next to a sacristy. Přední Výtoň is the only town on the right bank of the Lipenská dam, which has its own city council.

The castle Rožmberk includes the only well-preserved part of the original Upper castle (which is the round tower Jakobínka) and the Lower castle from the 14th century, at which time the family of Rožmberk resided in Český Krumlov. The facade of the Lower castle is decorated by renaissance´s sgraffitos. The painted wooden ceilings and wall paintings in the castle interior date from cca 1600. The castle was rebuilt in the romantic Gothic style in the 19th century. The newly built crusade gallery includes the works of painter Strobl which are fictitious portraits of crusader according to models from Versailles. The so-called New castle and English park was established near Jakobínka. The well-known ghost of the White Lady was last seen at Rožmberk during the repairs in 2006 and before that during the second World War, when it scared two girls who had to hang up the Nazi flag at the castle. In the town, there is the dean church of Virgin Mary, which had been mentioned as early as 1271.

The remainder of the Gothic castle lies near Kaplice on the Černá river. The castle was established in the 13th century, when Vok of Rožmberk appropriated it by falsifying a charter. The castle Sokolčí in fact belonged to the lords of Velešín and Mr Vok purchased it by law one century later. However, the charter of 1541 mentiones this castle as desolate.

The small recreational town Stožec, formerly a wooden village established in 1769, is situated in the valley of the Cold Vltava. The Stožecká chapel stands nearby (northern from the town under the peak Stožecká rock). This chapel was established in 1791 near the stream, which was called “miraculous” and spread in the 19th century. At the end of the 20th century, the tradition of the August pilgrimage was re-established (always 15.8). The peak of the rock offers a splendid view. The best way to climb it is from the forester´s lodge in České Žleby – cca 3.5 km.

The small town lies in the foothills of the Novohradské and Slepičí mountains. There is a Gothic church Ascension of Virgin Mary in the town, where you can see the late-Gothic statue of Madonna from the 16th century. It is also possible to walk to Buškový hamr ( the instructive trail begins at the bus station Trhové Sviny) and visit the church of the Holy Trinity in the Baroque style from the 18th century on the way. Buškův Hamr was operational until the 1970s and owing to this, the original fittings and facilities including the exposition with a varied range of tools have been preserved.

Trocnov is the birthplace of Jan Žižka, the leader and representative of the Hussite group. In the area near the village Trocnov (cca 14 km southeastwards of České Budějovice) the memorial of Žižka, the statue of Žižka from J.Malovský, the Museum of the Hussite revolutionary movement and the Žižka stone can be seen. The memorial is accessible from the village Radonice.

The castle was built in the years from 1251 to 1260. It was devastated in 1619. After that, Jáchym of Novohrady from Kolovraty had a new part attached (the authorities resided there) and he had the old castle repaired. The castle was thoroughly renovated under Adam František Schwarzenberg. However, in 1857 the castle was struck by a lightning and burnt out, the vaults were the only place unaffected by the fire.The building was severely damaged and the results of the following efforts to repair it are reflected in the appearance of the present castle. The town is famous for its printing tradition (two books from as early as 1484). Towards the end of the 19th century a unique miniature Koran in a beautiful binding was printed there. It had 832 pages and there was a magnifying glass attached to it because the measures of it were only 1.8 x 2.7 cm. In the church Navštívení Panny Marie a Gothic statue of Madonna dating from cca 1400 has been preserved ( it was a work of the author of the Madonna from Krumlov). There is also a cemetery church of St Bartoloměj with preserved paintings dating from the 2nd half of the 15th century there.

The torso of the Gothic castle, also called Vítkův castle, lies on the rocky hill (1032 m) cca 5km from Přední Výtoň. The castle was established by Vítek of Načerdec and it was used as a prison for the enemy Václa IV in 1394. During the Thiry Years´War it was extensively damaged and subsequently repaired by the Schwarzenbergs. However, it was its last repair. From the castle, there is an impressive view of the Lipenská dam and when the sky is clear, the peaks of the Alpes are seen as well. In the nearby church of St Thomas, there used to be held famous fairs.

It lies cca 16km southwestwards of Prachatice. There is one of the biggest timber factory in the Bohemian Forest, also garment and food factories. In the centre of the town, there are preserved several wooden houses. These buildings date from the Renaissance period. A signed tourist track “The Golden Track” leads from the Baroque church from 1688 to the cemetery. There is a memorial of the victims of the trail of death of the Second World War and graves of 96 woman-prisoners of 5 nationalities from the concentration camp in Ravensbruck, who died at that time. Volary also offers a sports stadium and a swimming pool.

This town is an administrative centre of the so-called volyňský újezd, mentioned as early as 1271. In the former fortress, there is a city museum and in annex to it there is a church of All Saints. The pearl of Renaissance is the local city hall dating from 1521. The Jewish cemetery is an important landmark. The oldest Baroque tombs are made from white marble, with and evident influence of the folk art on them.

The Cistercian cloister in Vyšší Brod was established in 1259 by Vok of Rožmberk. Under the chancel of the church, there is a tomb of the House of Rožmberk. In 1612, when the last member of the House of Rožmberk Petr Vok died, the tomb was closed and the entrance to it was sheltered by new paving. The cloister burnt out several times and the present fittings are mostly baroque dating from the 17th century. In this period, the present Post Museum was also built ( it had been formerly an abbey). The library in the cloister dating from 1757 shelters precious manuscripts and earliest prints.

The Cistercian cloister was established by Přemysl Otakar II in 1263 as a counterpart to the cloister in Vyšší Brod. The stonework was partly done by the brother of the constructer of the St Vitus Cathedral Michal Parléř. During the Hussite Wars the cloister was burnt up and the thorough repairs started as late as in the 17th century. The main altar dates from the second half of the 18th century. In 1785, the cloister was abolished by Josef II and changed into a factory. In 1909 there were innitiated the efforts to restore the original beauty and today, it serves as an exposition of the State Scientific Library.

This fortress is situated in the foothills of the Novohradské mountains cca 25km westwards of Český Krumlov. In this unique fortified village with town walls and bastions there is a gothic fortress. You can find there a precious exposition of folk painted furniture dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.