*A tour of the beautiful gardens and park area at Lednice chateau – 5 km*
- Lednice chateau is the jewel in the crown of the extraordinary Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape which is one of the sixteen UNESCO World Heritage sites in the whole Czech Republic. The magnificent neo-Gothic chateau was created in the mid 19th century as the Liechtenstein summer palace, on the foundations of an originally medieval Gothic fortress which later became a Baroque palace.
- The Liechtenstein noble family acquired the territory around Lednice and Mikulov in the 13th century and maintained control of the area for seven centuries until 1939, when their properties were confiscated by the Nazi regime. The Liechtensteins became the wealthiest family in Moravia after the 1620 Battle of White Mountain, where they supported the winning Catholic Hapsburg Emperor and consequently were able to acquire property confiscated from the losing Protestant Estates.
- Today, the remarkable 19th century monuments, follies and extensive park area (the second largest in the country) are owned by the Czech state and are one of the most visited attractions in the country. A visit to the chateau and a walk around the park area to view a number of the follies and monuments is very highly recommended. A visit during autumn season offers the best colours and somewhat quieter paths.
- The park immediately around the chateau is free to enter throughout the year, and the loop around the main fishpond is approximately 5 km long, completely flat and with the paths suitable for strollers. The suggested route first visits the outstanding ornamental gardens on the south side of the chateau before exploring the English style park area, with monuments including the Moorish house. This was originally constructed as a steam bath, but is part of the unique engineering constructions connected with the pond and water system.
- Other monuments include the replica minaret which provides a stunning backdrop to the large castle pond and a imitation ruined Roman aqueduct. Boat trips are possible starting at the Moorish house which travel on along the river Dyje water system to visit the extraordinary Janův hrad, constructed as a hunting lodge at the beginning of the 19th century in the style of a semi ruined medieval castle, as well as to the minaret.
- There are several refreshment options directly outside the chateau complex. One of the most popular and definitely recommended is Pedro’s Foodtruck, a trailer parked in the castle square serving gourmet fast food. The chateau cukrána, near the main entrance, serves excellent ice cream and has a nice terrace.
Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’ to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.
Directions
- Lednice can be reached by bus or train (it is on a branch line from Břeclav), and there are various small paid parking areas around the town, including on the main Zámecké náměstí (these get full quickly in the main season)
- Start the walk from the square. There are a couple of entry points to the garden and park area, including an entrance directly the ornamental gardens from Slovácká street, 200m from the main square
- After touring the gardens walk past the greenhouses to reach the ponds area and the Moorish house. Cross the footbridge (on the right side is the landing stage for boat trips)
- From the boat station, follow the path around the pond in a clockwise direction passing the viewpoint looking towards the minaret, the imitation aqueduct and then the minaret before returning the the boat landing stage. The loop around the pond is 3.3 km long
- From the Moorish house return back to the entrance area through the chateau complex
