Žirovnice: Culture and excursions for your stay

Žirovnice combines cultural history with a variety of places to visit. The castle brings together paintings, historic domestic culture and rural life; there is also a Neo-Gothic church, a 27-kilometre educational trail, a Stations of the Cross in the forest and a natural swimming pool with sports facilities. If you are looking for a hotel in Žirovnice, you can plan your stay around the topics that interest you most. To help plan your journey, the Žirovnice Tourist Information Centre offers a search for transport connections.

Church and castle art

The present-day Church of St Philip and St James in Žirovnice was completed in 1871 and built in the Neo-Gothic style. Its main altar was adorned with a painting of the holy apostles Philip and James by the Czech painter Karel Škréta. The building’s history and its religious art offer two specific points of interest for anyone interested in architecture and religious imagery.

Žirovnice Castle also offers several different themes. The gallery of academic painter Jan Havlík displays his oil paintings. Another exhibition, titled “Flowers in an Aristocratic Residence,” showcases 19th-century furniture interiors. The granary offers a different focus: the castle presents agricultural machinery as well as various tools and equipment from rural life there. This allows you to experience painting, domestic culture and the world of agricultural work as different aspects of the castle. The castle’s observation tower offers views of the surrounding countryside.

Brewing history and crafts

The history of the Žirovnice brewery dates back to 1544. Separate from this is the exhibition on button-making and mother-of-pearl processing in the castle brewery in Žirovnice: it shows where and how mother-of-pearl is obtained and presents mother-of-pearl-working machines from the second half of the 19th century. The historical overview of the brewery and the exhibition on mother-of-pearl processing thus offer two distinct themes for a stay focused on cultural history.

Educational trail, Stations of the Cross and natural swimming pool

The “Po pamětihodnostech Žirovnice” educational trail is a circular route from Žirovnice through Metánov, Stranná, Štítné, Vlčetín and Popelín, returning to Žirovnice. It is 27 kilometres long and suitable for walkers and mountain bikers. Its length, circular layout and the places along the way provide a clear framework for planning if you are considering a route with several stops.

The Stations of the Cross in Žirovnice offer a different focus. They are located in the “Ve Struhách” forest along the red-marked hiking trail between Žirovnice and Počátky. Unlike the educational trail, which forms a circular route through several places and returns to Žirovnice, the Stations of the Cross follow the link between two towns. The two routes therefore differ both in their course and in their thematic focus.

The Budín natural swimming pool adds swimming and sports facilities to the cultural and walking options. The facilities listed include a large slide, a concrete table tennis area, a nohejbal court and a streetball court. If you are planning a visit, check the latest information about the facilities in advance, as they may change over time. This allows you to consider the natural swimming pool separately from your interests in the castle and routes when planning your stay.

Discover more destinations: Starý Smrdov, Syrov, Rovná U Hořepníku, Vojslavice, Kamenice Nad Lipou, Bořetín, Mezilesí U Pelhřimova, Hořepník.

For the broader travel overview: Pelhřimov District.