Lednice–Valtice Complex, Czech Republic

The Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape in South Moravia, near the Austrian border, covers about 283 square kilometres of parks, woods, ponds, vineyards and historic buildings. For more than three centuries it was shaped by the Liechtenstein family, who owned Valtice from 1249 and kept it as their main residence until 1939. In the 18th and 19th centuries they turned the land between their two castles into a vast designed landscape, and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Lednice Castle was remodelled between 1846 and 1858 in the English Tudor Gothic style, with carved wooden ceilings, panelling and a spiral staircase in the library. Its park has a palm greenhouse and the 62-metre Minaret, a Moorish-style lookout tower completed in 1804. Valtice Castle, about 7 km away, is a large Baroque residence with a court theatre and a chapel, and its cellars hold the National Wine Salon of the Czech Republic. Between and around them stand romantic follies: the Reistna Colonnade above Valtice, the Rendezvous hunting lodge, the Border Chateau, the Apollo Temple, the Temple of the Three Graces and the artificial ruin of John’s Castle.

Visitor Information

The parks and most of the landscape are free to explore. At Lednice the guided tour of the representative rooms or of the princely apartments costs CZK 300 (seniors and visitors aged 18–24 CZK 240, children 6–17 CZK 90); the Minaret costs CZK 100 and the greenhouse CZK 140. At Valtice the main tour of the representative rooms also costs CZK 300. Children under 5 enter free.

The castles are closed on Mondays and in winter: at Lednice, the main tour and the greenhouse run at weekends until mid-December, while the Minaret and the other tours close at the end of October or early November and reopen in spring. Allow a full day to see both castles; the landscape is best explored by bicycle, on foot or by boat between Lednice Castle and the Minaret.

Lednice is about 60 km south of Brno. Trains from Brno reach Břeclav in about 30–40 minutes, and from there buses go to Lednice and trains to Valtice. The area is one of the best-known wine regions in the Czech Republic, with many wine cellars in the surrounding villages.