This UNESCO - listed wetland is laced with small ponds, and is one of the top eco-tourism and bird-watching sites in the Czech Republic.
The nearby Valtice chateau is considered one of the most significant pieces of baroque architecture in the country, while Lednice´s chateau is a masterpiece of Romantic architecture.
9-12 HOUR ROUND TRIP


Lednice-Valtice Area is situated among the river Dyje, Palava (Palava Hills) and the border with Austria. It has two centres, Valtice and Lednice, which are famous mainly for their chateaux and parks. In 1996, the complex of Lednicko-valticko area was included in the list of World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO.
The system of Lednické rybníky (Lednice ponds) lures you to visit it. It is protected as a wetland of international importance and a valuable ornithological locality. The nature-scientific sights of the area include aquarium Malawi in the Lednice chateau with the exposition of sea fauna and flora.
Lednicko-valtický areál is closely linked with the Liechtenstein family. The Valtice chateau is considered one of the most significant pieces of evidence of Baroque architecture in the Czech Republic, while the Lednice chateau with the chateau park is a masterpiece of Romantic architecture in the republic. A minaret forms an inseparable part of the Lednice park. As for other park buildings, let us recall e.g. Hraniční zámeček (Border chateau), artificial castle ruin Janův hrad (John's castle), Dianin chrám (Diana's temple) or chateau Pohansko with archaeological exposition and interpretive path.
In the cellars of the Valtice chateau, there is the National Wine Centre and Wine Saloon of the Czech Republic, which gathers one hundred best wines from the whole country. The sights of wine-growing in Valtice and its surroundings can be presented to you by the local wine-growing interpretive trail. As for the interesting events, we will mention Valtice Wine Market with international participation, which takes place in May.

LEDNICE
When Valtice became the residence of the Liechtenstein family, Lednice was assigned the role of the summer seat. The chateau with the adjacent park belongs to the most visited sights in the Czech Republic; hundreds of thousands of tourists come here every year. The originally Gothic water fortress protecting the entry into the country was converted into a Renaissance chateau, which was subjected to a Baroque reconstruction in the late 17th century. Its current appearance, which is masterpiece of English Neo-Gothic, was imprinted upon the chateau in 1850, when a complex of buildings with eight wings and four courts, two towers, Baroque riding area and a greenhouse linked to the main chateau building was formed. The interiors have many engraved decorations. The chateau area includes an extensive landscape part that is completed with small romantic buildings and a famous minaret.
Lednice castle is a majestic, georgeous mansion, exactely the kind of a place you imagine, while listening to:“...once upon a time there was a magnificent castle...“ What you see during a tour in this castle is not original equipment. According to historical materials „it doesn´t correspond with its former splendour“. One can hardly imagine what it used to be like.
Landlords from Lichtenstein didn´t live in poverty. Majestic ground-floor spaces served as representative chambers, where guests and friends were invited. The first floor was furnished to live in – nowadays there is a separate sight-seeing tour „Knížecí apartmány“ (Princely apartments). The second floor, where children used to rule, is a picture gallery.
Lednice neighbourhood has always been popular among people. First farmers lived there four thousands years ago. Hand-in-hand with invention of money and the opportunity to show wealth, the original fortress became a castle. It was 17th century but it seems that owners sympatized with local prehistoric inhabitants, because they built an artificial cave with stalactites. Some made from a plaster, some ripped in Moravia carst. At the end of 17th century a ridding-hall was build by a project of a famous architecter J.B.Fischer from Erlach. The ridding-hall is nowadays the oldest well-preserved building of the castle.
At first the manor was in possession of House of Sirotci, but they weren´t skilled in handling so they lost their ownership quite fast. Lichtensteins got rich when they seized fortune of noblemen executed at Staroměstské Square after the battle at Bílá hora. Lichtensteinś fortune greatened, thanks to their skills in business activities and soon they gathered enough to build the unique castle. Bold plans of wealthy aristocratic families were crossed by French revolution. Panic-stricken aristocracy turned to dreamery and so it reflected in architecture. Family mansions were build to look medieval. This tendency is evident in all buildings of „Europian garden“. Lednice castle got its appearance in 1846 -1858. It was build-up, at that time, very modern English (so called Winsdor) Gothic.
At the end of World War 2 and following communistic nationalization a big part of original equipment suffered greatly. Lichtensteins took everything they could in 1943. The most beautiful portraits, valuable pieces of furniture, jewel boxes and trimmings ended far in Lichtenstein. Fortunately they didn´t take along massive furniture, cut up stairs or pull down wallpapers. Due to it we can admire amazing staircase, carved from one piece of wood as well as original Chinese wallpapers decorated with motives of flowers, birds and Chinese people, that we can find on walls of Chinese cabinet.
You can hardly believe, that you marvel at a summer mansion. Aristocracy used this monstrous fairy-taleish building just as a cottage. They came here in early spring , but for winter they returned to central site in Valtice. Despite of it, they had built in heating, luxury bathrooms, bedrooms, dinning rooms and ballrooms. Lichtensteins were proud of their numerous art collections and they displayed their trophies from Africa and Asia wherever it was possible. The Prayer tower became a cellar for oriental articles, the best items were placed in display cases of African and Chinese room. In 1996, Lednice has been enlisted in national heritage UNESCO, so it became worlds legacy.
So, if your dream-house is an amazing villa with a garden or you long for an easy life, full of wandering in nature, delicious banquets, or you just want more free time so few servant would be handy- don´t go to Lednice. You would die with envy.

VALTICE
In the first half of the 17th century, Karl Eusebius of Lichtenstein engaged the architect , Giovanni Giacomo Tencalla, to build a new chateax for the Lichtenstein family residence near a medieval chateax which was later torn down.
Construction was completed by Ondrej Erna and his son, Jan Krtitel, from Brno. In the early 18th century, Johan Bernhard Fischer of Erlach, ordered an extensive Baroque remodelling, added wings to the front buildings, and built stables and riding school buildings. The chateux chapel is one of the most valuable interiors of the High Baroque in Moravian chateaux.
Although never completely finished, this chateau is considered a prime example of Baroque architecture in this country.

VALTICE WINE CELLARS
At present, Vinné Sklepy Valtice Company Ltd. processes about 5.000 tonnes of grapes every year. The grapes originate from vineyards located in the best soils and locations, spreading along the Austrian border from Valtice across to Mikulov and up to Dolní Dunajovice and Drnholec.
Vinné Sklepy Valtice Company is nowadays the biggest grape grower and producer of wine in the Czech Republic, just as it had been in the past. By means of its capital it is united to Vinofrukt Dolní Dunajovice Company, which manages an area of 420 ha of vineyards.
In its new plantations, the company focusses on international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The annual production of 4 million litres is achieved by using the most modern equipment, including temperature-controlled fermentation.
The wine is kept in historical cellars in traditional wooden barrels and also „barriques“ of new oak, as well as in modern newly built elevated air-conditioned halls in stainless steel tanks. The original Zámecký (Castle) Cellar, built in 1436 (the capacity of which is today 600.000 litres), is the place where especially red wines mature. Another cellar, called the Křížový (Cross) Cellar because of the shape of its ground plan, was built in 1640.
Its monumental main cellar – measuring 120 metres long – is crossed by another cellar measuring 106 metres long.The capacity of the cellar exceeds one million litres of wine, contained in oak barrels and stainless steel tanks, as well as maturing in 300.000 bottles in order to attain the highest quality of bottle-aged varietal wines.
In addition to the wide variety of quality wines and wines with „special attributes“, the company has also focussed, in accordance with the old traditions of cellarmen working for noble families, on the production of wines of bottle-aged vintage wines.
In the case of these wines, the wine lying undisturbed in bottles, in the tranquil, cold and dark environment of the Křížový cellar, develops a more complex bouqet and becomes more rounded, with a very special character which depends upon the variety.
Wine grapes are cultivated throughout all of Europe, usually in vineyards, though in Finland and Iceland they are grown in greenhouses. Wine is adored throughout the world, and has cultivated an eager following of experts and aficionados for whom life without wine would be no life at all. Once considered the nectar of the Gods, wine is also a commodity, for buying, selling, and collecting. It is also a cytalyst for love. Most handbooks on wine miss an important point, namely, that this royal beverage can be understood as a measure of man´s own spiritual manurity. The grape-vine was grown in the Czech lands during the time of the Great Moravian Empire. Legend has it that Prince Svatopluk sent Prince Borivoj (the grandfather of St. Wenceslas) and his wife Ludmila a cask of wine in honour of the birth of their son in 892. During a period of great drought, it is said that Ludmila sacrificed much of the gift to the Goddess Krosyna, hoping for rain. Her prayers were answered. During the Middle Ages Czech grapes were grown primarily by monks, for more than just religious purposes. The Premonstratensians monks in Louka near the town Znojmo and the Cistercians at velehrad at Zernoseky owned the rights to their vineyards for centuries. Wine underwent a substantial "renaissance" under the Czech king and emperor Charles IV, who isseud an edict in 1358 calling for the cultivation of new vineyards. Wine soon became an important trade item, the selling and buying of which were influenced later by monarchs such as Rudolph II and Joseph II.

SE from Prague, 3 hours to drive
Trip:
1)Lednice-Valtice area - 9 hour round trip
Trips combinations:
2)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Namest chateau SEE7 - 12 hour round trip
3)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Jaromerice chateau SEE6 - 12 hour round trip
4)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Moravsky Krumlov, Alfons Mucha´s Slav Epic SEE5 - 12 hour round trip
5)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Mikulov SEE9 - 12 hour round trip
6)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Vranov chateau SEE10 - 12 hour round trip
7)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Moravian Karst SEE4 - 12 hour round trip
8)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Brno and Austerlitz SEE3 - 12 hour round trip
9)Lednice and Valtice SEE8+SEE17 + Catholic Pilgrim Sites in Moravia SEE11 - 13-14 hour round trip


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