Discover Branice: Chapels, History and Culture

Branice combines historic routes, several chapels and a cultural offering that explicitly conveys history with humor as well. If you would like to discover a place with a variety of cultural points of interest, you will find a railway line, the medieval Bechyňská cesta, memorial sites, a museum and regular events in the annual calendar here.

Branice between the railway line and the historic route

Branice lies on railway line No. 201 from Tábor via Písek to Ražice. An older connection reaches further back: the historic Bechyňská cesta passed through Branice around 1240 to 1260 and connected the settlements of Bechyně and Milevsko. There was a crossroads on this route in Branice.

Chapels with different stories

The Chapel of the Holy Cross stands on the site of a former plague cemetery from the 17th century. The present chapel was built after a storm destroyed the earlier chapel in 1929, and it was consecrated in 1931. This building makes a specific sequence of an older memorial site, destruction and reconstruction visible. Next to the chapel is an enclosed stone cross commemorating Stanislav Čunát; his name also appears on the memorial plaque. The chapel, stone cross and memorial plaque thus form a closely connected place of remembrance.

Another historical trace is provided by the Chapel of Saint Wenceslas. It dates from 1881 and is dedicated to Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech lands. After earlier bells had been removed twice due to wartime circumstances, the municipality bought a new bell for the chapel in 1946; it is still in use today. The chapel's construction date and the history of its bells together provide an insight into religious tradition and the changes that historical events have left in local life.

The Chapel of Saint Saturninus is more recent. Local members of the Vejrovské zemanství association built it in 2006. Together with the older chapels, it creates a timeline spanning different periods and making various eras of local history visible. For visitors, this means that Branice is not focused solely on buildings from one historical period, but also on memorial sites with clearly different origins and backgrounds.

History in the cultural center and the annual calendar

The Prohledárium Vejrovského zemanství is a museum in Branice's cultural center that presents history with humor. The exhibitions focus on the 20th century, the Second World War, and remembrance of the victims of fascism and communism. The thematic range thus extends from general local history to difficult chapters of the past century. Salons of drawn humor entitled “V obci Branice Vám rozhýbeme bránice” are also held there regularly. The museum therefore combines historical content with an explicitly humorous form of cultural presentation.

The traditional cultural calendar includes the New Year's procession “Novoroční pochod” on January 1 and the Slavnosti Vejrovského zemanství festival on June 1. If you would like to plan your trip around a fixed date, these two dates provide specific points of reference. The calendar complements the chapels and museum with recurring events, making community-oriented cultural occasions visible alongside quiet memorial sites.

More destinations for your search

For your further search, you can also visit Varvazov, Horosedly, Kestřany, Protivin, Minice, Dobev, Probulov and Přeborov.

To the higher-level travel overview: Písek District.