Zbytiny offers several distinct points of interest for planning a trip: a short educational and discovery trail, two cycling routes with stated distances, and a history of architecture and customs.

Matýskova Trail and Cycling Routes

The Matýskova educational and discovery trail leads from Zbytiny to the abandoned settlement of Mošna. At 1.3 km, it is a short route suitable for the whole family. Nine stops mark the way. Its named destination and the stops give the trail a character of its own; its length clearly distinguishes it from the two cycling routes that also pass through Zbytiny.

Cycling Route 1055 is 43 km long. It runs from Prachatice via Libínské sedlo and Volary to Soumarský most. Cycling Route VI runs from Kříž V. u Chrobol via Skříněřov, Tetřívčí potok, Arnoštov and Záhvozdí to Pěkná and is 32 km long. Both pass through Zbytiny, but follow different courses and have different endpoints. Route VI is 11 km shorter than Route 1055.

Church, Architectural History and Customs

St. Vitus Church is originally Gothic and dates from the 14th century. It was rebuilt after the village fire of 1738. The western moulded portal survives from the original building. The church thus brings together three aspects of architectural history: its early Gothic structure, its reconstruction after the fire, and a surviving element of the original building.

The customs of Zbytiny also have a clear connection with agriculture. Staročeská konopická is a harvest festival custom associated with the flax harvest, originally hemp. As an old village entertainment custom, the tradition was reserved for girls and women.

Nearby, Svatá Magdalena is a pilgrimage site. The pilgrimage takes place every year on the Sunday after the feast day of St. Magdalene on 22 July. So, to determine its timing, it is the combination of the feast day and the following Sunday that matters—not a fixed date of 22 July itself.

Natural and Transport History

In the cadastral area of Zbytiny, a protected-area project in NPP Blanice aimed to improve living conditions for the critically endangered freshwater pearl mussel and support its natural life cycle.

The history of transport can also be placed in a timeline. The first train reached Zbytiny in 1899, the same year the Prachatice–Volary railway line opened. The former forest railway operated until 1963, after which it was closed.

A stay can therefore combine a range of interests: a short, family-oriented educational trail, cycling routes that differ in length and course, and tangible evidence of architectural, cultural and transport history. Each topic remains distinct—from St. Vitus Church and the route to Mošna to the freshwater pearl mussel in NPP Blanice.

Discover more destinations: Horní Záblatí, Lčovice, Volary, Babice U Netolic, Šumavské Hoštice, Smedec, Malenice, Ckyne

Return to the regional travel overview: Okres Prachatice.