Kubatovy kameny

Kubatovy kameny (Kubata's Stones) are two unassuming boulders resting in the flat landscape of the Zbudov marshlands (Zbudovská blata), a few hundred metres from the Soudný stream near the village of Plástovice in South Bohemia, not far from České Budějovice. Modest as they look, they carry one of the best-known local legends in the region — the story of a peasant uprising and the execution of its leader, village headman Jakub Kubata.

Where does the name come from?

According to folk tradition, it was here that Jakub Kubata, the reeve (rychtář) of Zbudov, was beheaded on 20 April 1581 after leading a dispute between local peasants and the lord of Hluboká, Adam of Hradec. The conflict revolved around grazing rights on the boggy Blata meadows and the so-called "orphans' money," a fund that local farmers had previously managed themselves. The dispute ended tragically for Kubata, and his fate gave rise to the still-used regional saying "Kubata gave his head for the marshlands."

The two stones, lying roughly a hundred metres apart, each carry their own meaning in the legend. The taller one is said to mark the spot where the execution block stood, while the lower stone — bearing a carved cross — is said to mark the place where the severed head came to rest.

Legend or historical fact?

Historians do not dispute that a real dispute over Blata pastures took place in that period, but whether Jakub Kubata was an actual, historically documented individual remains uncertain. Because of this, the stones today function primarily as a living piece of folk tradition rather than a documented historical monument. Other explanations for the origin of the stones also circulate, independent of the execution legend: some accounts describe them as old boundary markers tracing a path across the marshy Blata, as stones with a cultic function, or as so-called reconciliation stones.

A place remembered in literature

The site also found its way into fiction — it appears in Karel Klostermann's novel "Mlhy na Blatech" (Mists over the Marshlands), in a folk tale about a farmer from Plástovice who intended to use the smaller of the two stones as a threshold for a barn he was building. The episode shows just how deeply the Kubata legend has become woven into the identity of the Zbudovská blata region.

Kubata in the region's living memory

The figure of reeve Kubata remains very much alive in local memory. Since 1904, a large monument dedicated to him has stood near the Soudný stream close to Zbudov, and the area regularly hosts festivities known as the Kubatovy slavnosti, commemorating the uprising and execution. The Kubatovy kameny themselves, though less prominent than the monument, form a quieter, outdoor extension of this trail of remembrance.

What else to see nearby?

Plástovice, next to which the stones lie, forms part of the protected historic village reserve of the Zbudovská blata, known for its well-preserved rural Baroque architecture. It is worth combining a visit to the stones with a walk through the village itself and a stop at the Kubata monument near Zbudov, where the story is presented in fuller detail through information panels and a small museum dedicated to the legend.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly are the Kubatovy kameny located? A few hundred metres south of the Soudný stream, near the village of Plástovice in the Zbudovská blata region close to České Budějovice.

What is the difference between the two stones? The taller stone is linked in legend to the site of the execution, while the lower one, marked with a carved cross, is said to mark where the severed head landed.

Did Jakub Kubata really exist? It's uncertain — the underlying dispute over Blata pastures is historically documented, but the figure of reeve Kubata is known mainly through folk tradition.

Is it worth combining the visit with other sights nearby? Yes — the historic village of Plástovice and the Jakub Kubata monument near Zbudov, with further background on the legend, are both close by.