Former Barracks of the 62nd Motor Rifle Regiment, Former military barracks in Prachatice, Czech Republic.
Nová kasárna is a former barracks complex in the north of Prachatice, with a rectangular plan whose long axis runs north–south. In the centre is the former regimental parade ground, now Horní náměstí and used mainly as a car park. The original 1941 Wehrmacht complex had 12 buildings on 6 hectares; six originally single-storey buildings stand at the corners of the parade ground, three to the north and two to the south.
The first buildings and the central parade ground were built by the Wehrmacht in 1941 for the German garrison in Prachatice; at the end of the war the barracks served as a hospital for wounded German soldiers. From 1945 the fenced 6-hectare site became a collection camp for Sudeten Germans awaiting transfer to Bavaria, holding up to 1,500 people under partisan lieutenant Jaroslav Vaněk; the camp closed on 16 August 1946. An officers' school opened in October 1946, and from 1958 the 62nd Motor Rifle Regiment of the Domestic Resistance was stationed here, disbanded on 31 March 1994.
The site was a visible part of daily life in Prachatice for generations, with military personnel regularly seen in town and participating in local events. This presence shaped how residents viewed their community as a garrison town.
The site is located on Kasarenska street in South Bohemia and can be reached on foot or by car. Visitors should note that some buildings may now be in private use or restricted, so it is worth checking access possibilities before visiting or exploring the outer areas of the complex.
The site's local name, Nová kasárna (New Barracks), was coined to tell it apart from Žižkovy kasárna, whose construction was completed in 1875. The older complex then became known as Stará kasárna, and the two were sometimes distinguished as Horní (Upper) and Dolní (Lower) barracks.
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