Rukávečská obora, Natural monument in Květov, Czech Republic

Rukávečská obora is a 6.83 ha fenced natural monument within an 848 ha hunting preserve near Květov, protecting a fragment of acidophilous beech forest on the northern slope of Oranice (538 m). The stand is even-aged, with a missing lower tree layer, and lies between 488 and 536 m above sea level.

Protection was declared on 6 August 1929, making it the oldest protected area in the Písek district. The reserve was long shaped by a game park established by a regulation of 1848; from 1887 mouflon were added to the high red deer stocks. A new declaration in 2022 adjusted the area to 6.74 ha.

Foresters here call the long-protected stand "prales", a primeval forest. The name Rukáveč refers to the surrounding 848-hectare hunting preserve, and since 1887 mouflon have been kept in it for hunting; the fenced monument inside keeps deer and wild boar away from the beeches.

The reserve lies inside the fenced Rukávečská obora, about 2 km southeast of Květov, south of the Branice–Květov road near the Tyrolský dům hunting lodge. The protected stand itself has been fenced off since 1998, so it is not open to walking; the surrounding obora is managed for forestry and hunting.

Unlike many managed forests, dead wood and fallen branches are left to decompose naturally here. This creates habitat for insects, fungi, and other organisms that depend on this natural breakdown process.