Hornice – discover historical traces and ponds

Hornice: fortification traces, sacred buildings and ponds

Hornice reveals its distinctive character through a combination of historic sites, small sacred buildings and bodies of water. This creates a destination whose points of interest are not limited to a single structure: Turecký kopec is home to traces of a fortified hilltop settlement, chapels and a wayside shrine in the village recall different periods, while several ponds and the Bihanka define the geographical orientation.

Early settlement traces and Tvrz Hornice fortress complex

A fortified hilltop settlement is located on Turecký kopec in the cadastral area of the municipality of Hornice. Its settlement dates back as early as the 10th century. The fortified hilltop settlement on Turecký kopec therefore points to the region’s earlier history. You encounter a different historical layer at Tvrz Hornice fortress complex. A ditch and rampart have been preserved on its eastern access side. Ceramic finds date the fortress’s active existence from the transition between the 13th and 14th centuries until the middle of the 15th century.

From the southeastern edge of the village, a path leads along the houses to Bobák pond and continues across its dam to the fortress complex. This route connects the village buildings with the preserved fortification features without reducing the historic site to a mere date.

Chapels, memorials and a former castle site

The Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk was completed in 1920–1921. Its rectangular ground plan, three-sided ending and brick construction give the building a clearly recognizable form. The chapel also contains a marble memorial plaque from 1922 bearing the names of the victims of the First World War. For a tour of Hornice, it is therefore both an architectural point of interest and a reminder of the area’s history of remembrance.

Among the village’s smaller structures is the Hornice niche chapel. The small sacred building, with its Neoclassical appearance, stands at the Hornice–Velký Újezd–Kojatice crossroads. Another local landmark is the wayside shrine on the road to Kojatice. The former Hornice castle site was built in the 14th century next to today’s Obecní rybník. As a former castle site, it is explicitly part of the village’s history and should not be equated with a current castle complex.

Ponds and local tradition

The bodies of water also give Hornice a clearly perceptible spatial structure. Hornický rybník lies on the eastern edge of Hornice. To the west of the municipality, the Bihanka first flows through Asuán pond and then enters the cadastral area of Hornice. This makes it possible to assign these waterside locations to different parts of the municipality.

Obecní rybník is also the venue for an annual fish harvest. Each year, this event attracts more than 1,000 people from the surrounding area. Together with the fortification traces, chapels and paths to the sites, this creates a varied picture of Hornice, which is especially interesting for travelers who want to discover the local history step by step.

More places for your search

If you would like to compare other destinations in addition to Hornice, you can also visit Kamenná, Lipník, Račice, Police, Ocmanice, Číhalín, Breznik and Střítež.

For the higher-level travel overview: Okres Třebíč.