Skočice

Skočice is a municipality and village in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The village of Lidmovice is an administrative part of Skočice.

Etymology
The name is derived from the personal name Skok, meaning "the village of Skok's people".

Geography
Skočice is located about 16 km southeast of Strakonice and 34 km northwest of České Budějovice. The western part of the municipality with the Skočice village lies in the Bohemian Forest Foothills, the eastern part with Lidmovice lies in the České Budějovice Basin. The highest point is the hill Hrad at 667 m above sea level, located on the eastern border of the municipality. The slopes of the hill are protected as the Skočický Hrad Nature Reserve.

The brook Lidmovický potok originates here and flows across the municipal territory. There are several fishponds in the municipality; the largest are Jordán and Louženský.

History
The first written mention of Skočice is from 1399.

Transport
The I/22 road from Vodňany to Strakonice, which further continues to Klatovy, passes through the municipality.

Sights
The main landmark of Skočice is the Church of the Visitation of Our Lady. It is an atypical octagonal church, built is the early Baroque style in 1677–1678. The church, originally as a chapel, was built for Polyxena Ludmila of Sternberg for its alleged miraculous image of Our Lady of Help (a copy of Cranach's Icon of Maria Hilf in Passau), and subsequently became a pilgrimage site. The area includes the cemetery and the Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk from the mid-18th century.