Volary (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,800 inhabitants. It is located in the Bohemian Forest, close to the border with Germany. An area in the northern part of the town with timber-framed Alpine-type buildings is well preserved and is protected by law as a village monument reservation.
Administrative parts
The villages of Chlum and Mlynářovice are administrative parts of Volary.
Geography
Volary is located about southwest of Prachatice and west of České Budějovice. It lies in the central part of the Bohemian Forest. The highest mountain in the municipal territory is Bobík at above sea level, located north of the town. Other high mountains in the territory include Jedlová at , Křemenná at , Doupná hora at , Větrný at , Mechový vrch at and Na Skále at .
The town is crossed by the Volarský creek. It flows into the Teplá Vltava, which runs along the southwestern border of the territory.
History
The first mention of Volary is from 1359 when the Prachatice councillor Ondřej from Volary (in Latin Andreas de Wallerii) was listed. The foundation of Volary was connected with the overall colonization of Bohemian Forest in the 13th and 14th centuries. The inhabitants were predominantly ethnic Germans from Bavaria.
Until the beginning of the 18th century, the main source of income was the trade on the Golden Trail. Volary was the largest settlement of the carriers on the Czech part of the Prachatice Golden Trail and rapidly grew. They served as a place of rest and overnight stays for carriers, who imported salt and other goods on horses along an important medieval road from Passau to Prachatice. The shape of the square has also been adapted to the route of the trail. In the 16th century, during the heyday of the trail, there were 13 pubs and four blacksmiths in Volary. In 1596, Peter Vok of Rosenberg extended the Volary privileges for the right to seize horses and charge of merchants who deviated from the prescribed direction of the trail and avoided Volary.
Until the Hussite Wars, Volary was among the possessions of the Vyšehrad Chapter. After the Hussite Wars, several Czech families settled here. From 1503, the Rosenberg family became the owners of the settlement, and in 1600, it was acquired by Emperor Rudolf II. After 1719, it became a property of the Schwarzenberg family, who owned it until the revolution in 1848.
The Thirty Years' War led to the decline of the salt trade on the Golden Trail, instead it served the imperial army as a supply route. The area was several times a place of battles and Volary was the target of attacks by troops of both sides. After the war, trading on the Golden Trail never returned to its previous level. In the 18th century, following the abolition of the salt trade, the Golden Trail sank into insignificance; this also led to the demise of Volary. It became a stagnant and insignificant settlement.
19th century
In the late 19th century the market town of Volary consisted of 224 houses with 2,069 German speaking inhabitants. Under the patronage of the authorities, the parish Church of Saint Catherine and the school were built and maintained. There was also in a public chapel of St. Florian and a town hall. The main sources of income were agriculture, cattle breeding and cattle fattening, linen weaving and the production of yarns. Every year Volary sold about 400 steers to Prague. The deposited borough was surrounded by agriculturally used meadows with numerous wooden houses, hay barns and traditional alpine architecture which gave the area along with the special construction of the houses an alpine character. The mostly wooden houses of Volary were built on flat land, close to each other, combined with large stones, gabled roofs and gabled fronts.
In July 1863, a major fire destroyed over 60 houses buildings. During the reconstruction after the fire of 1863, the typical Volary houses were not built entirely of wood, but partly with walls of stone and brick. Between 1856 and 1882, Volary was hit by the biggest series of fires. In 1871, Volary was promoted by to a town Emperor Franz Joseph I and its coat of arms was confirmed.