Loučovice

Loučovice (Kienberg) is a municipality and village in Český Krumlov District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,500 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The village of Nové Domky is an administrative part of Loučovice.

Geography
Loučovice is located about 21 km south of Český Krumlov and 41 km southwest of České Budějovice. The municipality borders Austria in the south. It lies in the Bohemian Forest mountains. The highest point is the Hvězdná mountain at 1012 m above sea level. The Vltava River flows through the municipality.

Most of the municipal territory lies in the Vyšebrodsko Nature Park. There are several small-scale protected areas; the most valuable is Čertova stěna-Luč National Nature Reserve with giant stones.

History
The first written mention of Loučovice is from 1361, when the village was owned by Vyšší Brod Monastery. The village was burned down in 1420 together with the monastery by Taborites, and renewed after the Thirty Years' War.

In the 1880s, entrepreneur Arnošt Porák founded a large paper mill in Loučovice, which employed more than 1,000 workers at its peak. Electrified railway built in 1909–1911 reached Loučovice.

Between 1938 and 1945, the area was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. After expulsion of German population in 1945, many smaller hamlets in the area disappeared but Loučovice grew up. In 1950, several villages were merged with Loučovice and created a standalone municipality.

Transport
In the southwestern tip of the municipal territory is a road border crossing with Austria named Přední Výtoň / Guglwald.

Loučovice is located on the railway line of local importance heading from Lipno nad Vltavou to Rybník.

Sights
The Church of Saint Ulrich was built as a late Gothic chapel at the end of the 15th century. After it was destroyed by fire, it was completely rebuilt in the 16th century, and then baroque modified in the 17th century.