Chapel on Hůrka

It is early Saturday evening and we are standing at the site of the former Šumava settlement of Hůrka. The cross-country skiers have long since descended into the valley, and now, as the last rays of the sun bathe the surrounding plains, an almost sacred silence reigns up here. Only an occasional gust of wind rustles in the crowns of the mature maples lining the path to the reconstructed chapel, which is the only reminder of the times when people lived all around here.
Place,…