The abandoned village is located a few hundred meters from the German-Czech border in Šumava National Park. The nearest town was Buchwald (Bučina), which no longer exists today. Today the nearest villages on the Czech side are Borová Lada (German: Ferchenhaid, 6 km) and Kvilda (German: Außergefild, 7 km). About four kilometers as the crow flies to the southwest on the German side lies Finsterau. From there it is possible to reach Knížecí Pláně via the border crossing Finsterau / Buchwald, which is closed to motor vehicles. From the Czech side, Knížecí Pláně can be reached via several hiking and biking trails.
History:
Prince's hat around 1880
The village was founded in 1792 in the course of several local foundations by the princes of Schwarzenberg. These had at that time their seat in Krummau about 50 kilometers away. The village had at that time nearly 70 buildings and accommodated more than 500 inhabitants. In 1864, the named after John the Baptist (Czech Jan Křtitel) church was opened. After the Second World War, the predominantly German -born population was expelled in 1946 and demolished the buildings until 1956. The church and the cemetery were destroyed as well. For the next decades, the site was in the restricted zone on the border with Germany and was not accessible to the public. Only after the political change was the place accessible again. In 1992, the former residents got permission to rebuild the tombstones in the cemetery and to renovate the complex. The rubble heap of the church is overgrown with trees. The instead of the church built wooden cross was destroyed in 2007 in a storm and replaced by a smaller one. [2] [3] There is only one house in Knížecí Pláně.
Source: Wikipedia