Oselce

Oselce is a destination for travellers who want to combine cultural monuments, local traditions and active exploration. At its heart is a Baroque castle with a history dating back to an earlier fortress. This cultural setting is complemented by chapels in varied landscapes, a small motorcycle exhibition, and documented hiking and cycling opportunities.

Baroque Castle and Chapels around Oselce

The Baroque castle in Oselce was built in 1680 on the site of an earlier fortress. Antonio de Maggi remodelled the castle between 1707 and 1737. The complex includes a chapel with a ceiling fresco depicting Bohemian patron saints. The castle therefore offers not just a single historical connection, but several concrete starting points for discovering the area’s cultural heritage.

Northwest of Oselce, the Baroque Chapel of St Margaret stands on the 662-metre-high Markétin vrch. It was built in 1691. From Oselce, a green-marked hiking trail approximately one kilometre long leads to this destination. However, access to the chapel is only occasionally possible. Anyone planning this detour should therefore treat the limited accessibility as a fixed part of their visit planning, without assuming that the interior can be visited at any time.

A memorial lime tree from Oselce, with a trunk circumference of 525 cm, also stands on the way to Markétin vrch. In Kotouň is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, built between 1703 and 1705 on the site of a church that burned down in 1475. The church complex includes a preserved ossuary and a low Baroque bell tower dating from 1696. Above Kotouň, a niche chapel known as Kloubovka stands in the forest. A spring rises there, and local tradition attributes healing effects to its water, particularly for joint and limb pain. This claim is part of local tradition and should be understood as such.

Motorcycles, Legends and Local Traditions

Another facet of the area is shown by the Muzeum motorek v Oselcích. The small exhibition of historic motorcycles is located on the ground floor of the Oselce municipal office and presents motorcycles from the Jawa and ČZ brands. The modest exhibition venue provides a clear contrast to the Baroque buildings and also makes the area’s history interesting for visitors interested in technology and regional everyday culture.

Other traditional destinations include Čertův hrad: a chapel by a pond east of Nová Ves on the road to Nezdřev. The site is associated with a local legend about boulders supposedly left behind by the devil. The Oselecká pouť is also part of the area’s character. This recurring tradition is documented for 2024 and 2025; older municipal entries place the main celebrations at the Chapel of St Margaret. In addition, a New Year’s march with fireworks took place in Oselce on 1 January 2025, and a New Year’s march took place on 1 January 2026. These dates are records of past events, not an announcement of a future events programme.

Hiking and Cycling as Different Travel Ideas

Two cycle routes are available for active days. Cycle Route 2046 passes through Oselce and mainly uses dedicated and local roads. Cycle Route 2161 passes through Nová Ves and follows road III/1882. Anyone looking for accommodation can therefore first decide whether Oselce itself or Nová Ves should be the focus when researching a starting point for the respective trip. Oselce’s castle and chapels favour a culturally oriented journey; for a ride along Route 2161, however, the location of Nová Ves is relevant.

For your further search, you can also consider Míšov, Blovice, Stod, Ždírec, Řenče, Měcholupy U Blovic, Ptenín and Borovy.

For the broader travel overview: Plzeň-Jih.