Following the Footsteps of Liechtenstein Living History

www.liechtensteinove.cz www.jizni-morava.cz Accessibility: 258 km from Prague

by train from Prague 3 h 40 min by bus from Prague — by car from Prague 2 h 25 min

Target group: Pleasure seekers

The noble House of Liechtenstein reigned over Moravia for seven centuries. The family once owned one third of the entire region. It is impressive to follow the traces that the House of Liechtenstein has left in culture, viniculture, horse breeding, and on the landscape. There are four chateaus, one castle, and a landscaped area protected by UNESCO. The House of Liechtenstein built a landscaped area known as the Garden of Europe in the south of Moravia. The majestic Baroque chateau of Valtice – with more than twenty rooms documenting how the nobility used to live, including a theatre, a princess suite, a chapel, and wine cellars – stands on one side of the garden, and the ornamental romantic chateau of Lednice, constructed in the Tudor Gothic style and surrounded by a system of lakes and streams, stands on the other. Between them you can find Chinese gazebos, belvederes, bridges, romantic cottages, Empire-style hunting lodges, a scenic colonnade at Reistna, the manmade ruin of Janův hrad, and even a minaret from which you can take in beautiful views of the countryside: all of this is the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape Area, registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Sailing through this landscape garden on a boat is an experience of a lifetime.

The Giant Barrel and the Hall of Senses Other distinctive monuments of the House of Liechtenstein are the chateaus in Mikulov and Bučovice. The Baroquedominated Mikulov is home to the Regional Museum, which has installed in the chateau’s chambers and cellars the most extensive exhibition on viniculture in the Czech Republic. The exposition includes a giant wine barrel made in 1643. The Renaissance chateau in Bučovice is also remarkable. The organised façade hides a typical Renaissance courtyard and beautiful halls representative of the style, remarkable for its exceptionally interesting murals such as the Hall of Senses and its allegories of human senses in the form of female figures and animals. The Liechtenstein chateau chapel is richly decorated with stucco, and the local armoury is also very interesting. There is also an interactive exposition called the Moravian Aristocrat in the Labyrinth of the World, based on the fate of one of the most notable members of the Liechtenstein family. The chateau is surrounded with a perfectly symmetrical Baroque garden.

The Trip to the Soul of a Collector The last of the Liechtenstein mansions to visit as you follow in the footsteps of this incredibly influential family is the medieval castle of Šternberk, the heart of the town with the same name. There you can embark on fascinating thematic guided tours, such as the new tour From the Kitchen to the Attic, which takes you through the castle facilities, including the food delivery and personal lift system – one of the technical gems of the estate – as well as the servants’ quarters, the newly restored kitchen, and even the attic. However, the tour of the Liechtenstein Collection gets the most attention: it is a tour of the exceptionally well-preserved collection of Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein, which contains hundreds of sculptures, reliefs, paintings, and items of applied art, and is a look into the soul of an enlightened and educated collector who favoured the Italian Renaissance. Other guided tour options include How They Used to Live in a Noble Mansion. The Liechtenstein footprints lead to many other interesting places, such as the family tomb in Vranov u Brna, the church in Křtiny, the towns of Slavkov, Moravský Krumlov, and Kunštát… The activities open to you are rounded out by the Liechtenstein cycling trails and tours of chateau gardens, which the Liechtensteins especially prided themselves on.

City nearby: Brno – Stylish, Lively and Young Brno is a living and generous gallery of functionalism. Let yourselves be carried away by the Brno Architectural Manual and discover 383 designs by 211 architects, above all the famous Villa Tugendhat, one of the greatest gems of 1930s architecture and a UNESCO-protected site. Brno is also a very lively, young, and energetic city full of unusual bars, bistros, cafés, and restaurants as well as festivals and events – it is not for nothing that Brno is the most dynamically developing city in the Czech Republic.

www.liechtensteinove.cz www.jizni-morava.cz Liechtenstein Trails: www.lichtenstejnske-stezky.cz Lednice-Valtice area: www.palava-lva.cz Valtice Chateau: www.zamek-valtice.cz Lednice Chateau: www.zamek-lednice.com Brno: www.gotobrno.cz

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