Hostouň: St. James’ Way, Church and Castle History

Hostouň brings together the Czech section of St. James’ Way with religious and castle history. For you, this creates a place where the pilgrimage theme, historic buildings and a surprising connection to Lipizzaner breeding come together. If your family has different interests, the history of the town can be explored through several themes.

St. James’ Way and orientation in the town

The Czech section of St. James’ Way runs from Bělá nad Radbuzou through Hostouň, where it reaches St. James’ Church, and continues via Přes towards Kladruby. Hostouň has an information board with a detailed description of St. James’ Way. On 1 May 2009, an information board was ceremonially unveiled in Hostouň. The board unveiled in 2009 complements the route with a fixed point of orientation for exploring the pilgrimage trail locally. The route and the local orientation give the pilgrimage theme a tangible connection to the town.

St. James: a Baroque building with older traces

St. James’ Church has been documented in writing since 1369. The present Baroque building may contain masonry from an older church and is decorated with murals. The tower houses three bells bearing the years 1453, 1516 and 1562. For visitors interested in culture, this combines the visible features of the building with a long history of the town reaching back to the Middle Ages. Thus, one building brings together an early written record, Baroque architecture, murals and bells with clearly documented dates.

From Fortress to Castle

The history of Hostouň Castle has also been shaped by change. The former fortress lost its function as a seat of power in 1656 and was converted into a castle in the 18th century. Hostouň Castle formerly served as a hunting lodge. Later, it was the residence of the widowed Princess Anna Trauttmannsdorfová. Another historical connection leads to the Lipizzaner breeding facility in Hostouň: during the Second World War, it was tasked with training stallions for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.

Mountains and a Baroque work of art

Several mountains form part of the surroundings of Hostouň: Železný vrch, Škarmanka, Reichenstein and Schillerberg are located near the town. Hostouň is also home to a Baroque statue dating from 1722 that underwent conservation treatment in 2021. This means the range extends from landscape features to a specific historic work of art.

Choose accommodation according to your travel theme

If you are looking for accommodation in Hostouň, you can base your choice on your travel theme: St. James’ Way and St. James represent pilgrimage and religious history, the castle and Lipizzaner breeding offer historical discoveries, and the mountains focus on the landscape. This makes it easy to define the combination you want for your stay.

More places for your research

For further research, you can also open the entries for Pivon, Mutěnín, Vidice, Trhanov, Libkov, Úboč, Krchleby and Vlkanov.

To the higher-level travel overview: Domažlice District.