Smilovy Hory: Church, Chapel and Routes

Two specific points of interest for planning a trip to Smilovy Hory are the architectural history in the town center and the routes that pass through the town. The Church of the Sending of the Holy Apostles (Rozeslání sv. Apoštolů) stands in the town center; its tower is a prominent landmark visible from afar. The chapel on the village square adds another local feature to the architectural landscape.

Church and Architectural History

The Church of the Sending of the Holy Apostles (Rozeslání sv. Apoštolů) was originally a Gothic church dating from the 14th century. A Baroque renovation followed in 1677. From 1810 to 1812, it was redesigned in the Empire style; the tower was added in 1903. These dates trace a sequence from its Gothic origins through two later stylistic phases to the addition of the tower. The redesign of 1810 to 1812 and the addition in 1903 were separate events: the first concerned the church building, the second the tower. Gothic, Baroque, and Empire therefore denote successive stages in the building’s history, not simultaneous renovations.

The Chapel on the Village Square

A Baroque chapel stands on the village square. It has a square ground plan, a rounded end, and a shingled conical roof. Built in the late 18th century, it is an urban design feature of the village square. Compared with the church, the focus here is less on a sequence of dated alterations and more on a single architectural form. The ground plan describes its layout, while the rounded end and conical roof define its exterior; its position on the square also places the chapel within the townscape. The two buildings thus differ in their architectural emphasis: on one side, a church with a history spanning several phases; on the other, a compact form and a position on the village square.

Landscape and Natural Environment

The forests and bodies of water in the Smilovy Hory area are considered valuable natural environments. The northeastern part of the administrative area also contains a regional biocorridor and a regional biocenter. These natural features relate to a different area than the church and chapel: they refer to the wider area or its northeastern part, while the buildings are located in the town center and on the village square. This distinction is useful when understanding the destination, because landscape features and individual buildings represent different spatial scales.

Routes through Smilovy Hory

For the routes, the precise description matters. A green-marked hiking trail runs from Mladá Vožice to Načeradec and passes through Smilovy Hory. The “Na konci světa” route passes through Běleč and Smilovy Hory, then follows the Blatnický Ponds to Radostovice. For the hiking trail, the color marking and endpoints provide orientation; for “Na konci světa,” the named places and the stretch along the ponds are the reference points. The route descriptions therefore differ in structure for planning purposes: one is a marked hiking connection with two endpoints, while the other passes through several places on its way to Radostovice. Visitors who include the town in their trip can use the place names to identify which route suits their interests.

Discover more destinations: Bezerovice, Krtov, Vlkov, Doubí, Malsice, Chýnov, Dírná, Zhoř U Mladé Vožice

For the broader travel overview: Tábor District.