chapel of St. Sebastian east of Cetviny

The Chapel of St. Sebastian sits on a wooded hillside east of the former settlement of Cetviny, within the municipality of Dolní Dvořiště in the Český Krumlov district. It's a small stone structure with a history tied closely to the vanished village below it, and it now draws mostly visitors specifically tracking down border-region heritage rather than casual passers-by.

Where exactly is the chapel located?

The building stands on high ground above what used to be the village of Cetviny, close to the Czech-Austrian border. For much of the twentieth century this whole stretch of land sat inside the restricted border zone of the Iron Curtain, which is part of why the area feels so empty today — the chapel is reached along forest paths rather than a marked tourist trail, so anyone arriving has usually planned the visit in advance.

Why does this chapel exist here?

A chapel under this dedication first stood inside the village of Cetviny itself, built in 1740 next to the local parish church. St. Sebastian has long been venerated as a protector against plague and epidemics, a concern that carried real weight for a community that had already lived through outbreaks of disease. When the road through the village was widened in the mid-1800s, that original chapel was torn down. The statue of the saint was saved and eventually installed in a newly built chapel on the hill above the settlement — the one still standing today.

Cetviny itself goes back much further than the chapel. The settlement is first recorded in 1325 under the Rožmberk family and was granted town rights in 1384 by Petr of Rožmberk. A Gothic church dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary stood there from at least the late 13th century. The place had a rough history: in 1619, mercenary soldiers plundered the church and burned the settlement, and a plague column was erected in 1772, likely in response to another outbreak. By the 1830s the parish counted close to 1,500 residents, with Cetviny proper home to over 800 of them. The decisive break came in 1955, when most of the remaining buildings were demolished as the area was folded into the Cold War border zone.

Who looked after the chapel once the village was gone?

For decades, restricted access to the border zone left the chapel to decay. That changed after 1990, when the zone was opened up and former parishioners and their descendants began returning to the area, also tidying up the remains of the nearby cemetery. Between 1993 and 1994 the chapel was thoroughly restored by descendants of the family that had owned the nearby manorial mill, the Herrenmühle — local tradition holds that the mill's residents were never struck by plague, which is part of why that family took special responsibility for a chapel dedicated to a plague saint. The interior was decorated with paintings by Anna Loistl during this restoration.

What condition is the chapel in today?

The chapel is currently an unplastered stone building with a new roof, kept in good repair. It remains privately owned, which is worth keeping in mind when visiting — this is a site of memory and family stewardship rather than a fully public tourist attraction.

Frequently asked questions

Has the chapel always stood in this spot? No. The original 1740 chapel stood inside the village of Cetviny itself, next to the parish church. The current building on the hill was constructed later, after the first chapel was demolished during road works.

Why is the chapel dedicated to St. Sebastian? St. Sebastian is traditionally invoked as a protector against plague and epidemics, a recurring threat in the region during earlier centuries.

Can visitors still see the original village of Cetviny? Not really — most of the settlement was demolished in 1955 as part of Cold War border-zone clearances. The chapel is one of the few surviving traces of that community.

Who maintains the chapel now? Following a thorough 1993-1994 restoration by descendants of the family that once owned the nearby mill, the chapel remains privately owned and is kept in good condition.