Brloh

Brloh is a small village that forms part of the municipality of Drhovle, in the Písek district of the South Bohemian Region. It lies roughly two kilometers southwest of Drhovle itself, next to the village of Pamětice, which belongs to the same municipality. The place combines traces of a medieval noble family, a renaissance fortified manor, and a protected natural area centered on a pond and a rocky streambed.

Where does the name come from and when was the village first mentioned?

The earliest written record of Brloh dates to 1359, when the village belonged to a nobleman named Diviš of Brloh. As was common in medieval Bohemia, he took his family name from the settlement he owned. His descendants became known as the Záborští of Brloh, and for generations their fortunes stayed tied to the village and the fortified manor standing in it.

Who controlled the village during the Middle Ages?

By the 15th century, Brloh had two manorial farmsteads. One of them was dissolved in 1454, its land parceled out among local peasants — a small but telling sign of how larger noble estates gradually broke apart. Ownership of the village later passed within the same extended family: Anna of Brloh sold it to Jan Svojš of Brloh, another member of the local gentry.

When was Brloh an independent municipality?

The village's administrative status shifted more than once. Census records from 1850 to 1920 list Brloh as a settlement belonging to the municipality of Drhovle. Between 1921 and 1962 it operated as an independent municipality within the Písek district, before being merged back into Drhovle in 1963. It has remained one of Drhovle's constituent villages ever since, alongside neighboring Pamětice.

What historic building stands in Brloh?

On the edge of the village stands a former fortified manor house, whose history is closely bound up with the noble family that once owned Brloh. Over the following centuries the building took on a renaissance appearance, and after a period of neglect it was restored. It is now privately owned and not open to the public, but its outline remains one of the few visible reminders of the village's medieval past.

What natural features surround Brloh?

About 750 meters northwest of the village lies Michovka, a protected natural monument made up of a pond, the land around it, and a stream that emerges below the dam. Just past the outlet, the water has cut small rapids into exposed rock, and in winter this stretch can freeze into a small waterfall. The site is protected both for the rare animal species that live there and for an unusual plant community on the dam itself — a short-turf grassland that developed on limestone ground through centuries of grazing by sheep and goats. Species recorded around the pond include the edible frog, the sand lizard, the grass snake, and the red-backed shrike.

Where exactly is Brloh located?

The village sits in southern Bohemia, within the Písek district, as part of the municipality of Drhovle, not far from the town of Písek. It directly borders Pamětice and the municipality's other constituent villages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Brloh located? It is a village within the municipality of Drhovle, in the Písek district of South Bohemia, about two kilometers southwest of Drhovle's center and next to Pamětice.

Where does the name Brloh come from, and how old is the village? It was first recorded in 1359, when it belonged to Diviš of Brloh, whose descendants took the family name Záborští of Brloh.

Was Brloh ever its own municipality? Yes — between 1921 and 1962 it was an independent municipality, both before and after which it was part of Drhovle.

What historic building can be seen in Brloh? A former renaissance fortified manor stands on the edge of the village, linked to the local noble family's history and now privately owned after restoration.

What is Michovka? It is a protected natural monument near Brloh — a pond with a stream and rocky rapids, valued for rare wildlife and an unusual grassland community on its dam.