Bučina

Bučina is situated on the former upper Golden Trail, leading from the Kašperské Hory Mountains to Fünsterau, close to the state border with Bavaria. It was established in 1790, and used to be the highest-lying village in Bohemia. In the era of the First Czechoslovak Republic, the village counted in excess of 50 houses, including a garrison of the financial guard, the gamekeeper’s lodge, an elementary school, and a savings bank. To be found in the village was also the Fastner Hotel, a popular Inn called “Zum Tiroler” and the Pešl cabin that was built later on. The newly renovated chapel of St. Michel, situated at the former turn to the Vltava River Spring, was originally built in 1891. Two memorable huge fir trees used to stand on this route – the last remnants of the original wild forests of Šumava, (the Bohemian Forest). From Bučina is a great view of the panorama of Šumava along the border all the way to the Třístoličník Mountain. With good visibility, one can see the distant Alps from there. The village was incorporated in the border zone in the 1950s and razed to the ground in 1956. In 1992, the chapel was restored and the hotel “Alpská vyhlídka,” (Alpine view), can be found at the place of the former Pešl cabin, (zanikleobce.cz).