The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

The first written mention of Kaplice is in a deed of Pope Alexander IV from 1257, according to which it was property of the monastery in Milevsko.

[4] It was founded as the market village on an important trade route, connecting Upper Austria with South Bohemia.

[7] After the Rosenbergs died out, the estate was inherited by the Schwambergs, then it was acquired by Charles Bonaventure, Count of Bucquoy.

[8] After the abolition of serfdom, the town became the seat of the political and judicial district in the new administrative system.

Kaplice citizens with German majority refused to recognize the border of the new Czechoslovakia and wanted to join the territory to German-Austria.

[4] In 1919, Kaplice became the administrative centre of the area which included Vyšší Brod and Nové Hrady, but for its low population it was recognized only as a market town.

In 1938, on the basis of the Munich Agreement, Kaplice were annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of Reichsgau Oberdonau.

[4] The largest employer based in the town is Engel strojírenská, a manufacturer of machines for processing plastics.

[12] The I/3 road (part of the European route E55), specifically the section from České Budějovice to the Czech-Austrian border in Dolní Dvořiště, runs next to the town.

The town is served by a railway station called Kaplice, which is located in the territory of neighbouring Střítež.