Lednice Castle - the largest castle complex in Europe

Lednice Castle, forming a single architectural and park complex with the neighboring Valtice, is located on the right bank of the Dyje River, 50 km from Brno. Without exaggeration, this place can be called one of the most visited cultural and historical monuments of the Czech Republic. Moreover, he is one of the largest masterpieces of landscape art created by human hands.

As a rule, these castles are visited on the same day. And this is not surprising, because Lednice and Valtice are connected by a picturesque linden alley, the length of which is no more than 7 km. This distance can easily be overcome not only by bicycle, but also on foot.

In 1996, the cultural landscape of Lednice-Valtice was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and received the honorary title of the most beautiful garden in Europe. So it is now.

Lednice Castle

Lednice Castle, located on the border of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and named after the cold river Dyija, offers its visitors several tourist routes. The most popular of them is considered an excursion through the ceremonial halls, in which at one time crowded balls and other social events were held. Not far behind him is a walk through the private chambers of the owners, including a family living room, apartments of Sofia Esterhazy, the chapel of St. James, the rooms of Prince Franz and the bedroom of Princess Frantishka. The list of popular routes included the inspection of such important elements as the castle greenhouse, children's rooms of members of the princely family and an exhibition dedicated to the glacier winery.

Architecture and Interior

Over the long years of its existence, Lednice Castle in the Czech Republic has survived several dramatic reconstructions, each of which left a definite imprint on its architecture. So a powerful Gothic fortress, which arose in the first half of the 16th century, first acquired the attributes of a renaissance, and then became a palace in a luxurious Baroque style. The last transformation of the castle took place in 1858 - then elements of the Tudor neo-Gothic appeared in the appearance of Lednice, which have survived to this day. However, regular alterations did not diminish the beauty of this amazing place. Quite the contrary - it was they who made Lednice Castle one of the most luxurious architectural monuments of the Czech Republic.

The appearance of this building is truly striking in its sophistication and elegance. The facade of the palace is decorated with ornate balconies, lancet windows and sharp battlements that blend harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. Marble columns, graceful pilasters, stone pyramids, portals and drains completed by the best architects of those times complete the picture.

The interior of Lednice deserves no less attention. What is the main entrance with a wooden staircase and large brass chandeliers hanging over the flight of stairs! Once upon a time, the walls near the stairs were hung with paintings from the famous collection of the Liechtenstein family, but now there are only 3 unique paintings.

All halls of the castle have their own name, which is fully consistent with its design. So, in the interior of the Hunting Hall there are stuffed animals and birds, the African is decorated with trophies brought from the continent of the same name, and the walls of the Chinese are covered with wallpaper from the finest papyrus. And finally, the Turquoise or Blue Salon, so named “in honor” of decoration and storing portraits of local princes in its walls. Among them, the greatest excitement is caused by the image of the pregnant wife of Hartmann von Liechtenstein. The fact is that during the Middle Ages it was not customary to write ladies in position, but in this case the artist simply had no other choice. Princess Lichtenstein was pregnant almost constantly and in 21 years of married life she managed to give birth to 24 children. By the way, after her death, Hartmann married a second time. The new wife gave the prolific Liechtenstein another 10 children.

Want to know more about the life of Czech nobles? Then look into the bedroom with colorful trellises and small pictures on the walls, or go into the bathroom, the main elements of which are a bath, carved from a single piece of pink marble, and a toilet bowl in the form of a fish. If you want to get into purely male territory, go up to the Red Smoking Room, the greatest pride of which is the original armor of the middle of the 16th century. and round tables made using the same technology as hundreds of years ago.

The main attraction of the Lednice castle in the Czech Republic is the skillful spiral staircase installed in the library. They say that the creation of this openwork grandeur, carved from a solid oak, was spent as much as 5 years. At the same time, there is not a single nail in the staircase design - all the necessary connections were made using special spikes made of high-quality wood. Other elements of the library interior were made to match the staircase. Wood panels, patterned ceiling, embossed door portal and thousands of ancient books are all quite harmonious.
Among other things, you can see exhibits of medieval furniture, fireplaces made of pure marble, a relief ancestral tree carved from ivory, and a massive chandelier with candlesticks, which weighs almost 700 kg.

The park

The Lednice-Valtice complex in Lednice (Czech Republic) is famous not only for its beautiful architecture, but also for its picturesque landscapes. The castle is surrounded by a huge English park, turning into forests and virgin landscapes. Walking along the shady alleys of this square, you will see buildings of different styles and eras. Among them are the Temple of Apollo, the palm greenhouse, the ancient Roman aqueduct, the temple of the Three Graces, the man-made cave created in the first half of the 17th century, and the Moorish tower, from which you can see neighboring Austria. These buildings not only complement each other perfectly, but also create a unique romantic atmosphere.

Do not forget about the famous park ponds, in the clear waters of which you can see playfully splashing fish. On the surface of these reservoirs, artificial islands are constantly appearing, connected by a beautiful wooden bridge. Oddly enough, but once on the site of these shreds towered mountains of construction debris left after the last reconstruction of Lednice.

You can move around the territory of the palace and park ensemble not only on foot, but also on horses, bicycles, sledges or skiing - it all depends on the season. Tired of the rich excursion program, tourists can take a walk on river buses floating on the Diyya River.

Practical information

• Address: Zámek 1, 691 44 Lednice, Czech Republic
• Lednice Castle in the Czech Republic is open from 9 am to 4 or 5 pm - it all depends on the time of year and the excursion program. The cost of visiting is from 60 to 300 CZK. Details can be found on the official website - www.zamek-lednice.com/en.

Valtice Castle

Valtice Castle, located a few kilometers from the Austrian border, remained the main residence of the Liechtenstein family until 1945. It took almost 300 years to create a family estate for members of the princely family, during which garden houses, an opera house, and a Renaissance church appeared on a huge territory and other facilities. Among the favorite tourist places is the picturesque park with the temple of the goddess Diana, artificial ruins, arbors, sculptures, fountains and many unusual flowers, bushes and trees.

Equally interesting are the interior of the palace. The Gothic chapel, shady galleries, the luxurious Marble Hall and the Mirror Cabinet - all of them are perfectly preserved to this day, pleasing the eye with beautiful wall paintings and fully restored stucco moldings. There is also an old wooden elevator in the castle, the walls of which are decorated with elaborate carvings.

In the 18th art. Gothic castle Valtice survived several reconstructions, giving it the features of a new Baroque style. That is how it has survived to the present day. Today, the annual festival of wines (May 7-8) made in South Moravia is organized near the walls of the famous architectural monument. During the festival, compulsory tenders are held at which everyone can buy a bottle of the drink spilled even under Napoleon Bonaparte.
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Wine cellars

Valtice in the Czech Republic is famous not only for centuries of history and luxurious appearance, but also an ancient winery located in the basement. The medieval dungeon, in which the wine cellars are connected by a labyrinth of corridors, is considered almost the main attraction of this place. Currently, in the ancient caves there is a Wine Salon organized by the National Wine Center. Here you can not only learn the history of winemaking, but also taste the best varieties of the famous Moravian drinks. The opening hours of this exhibition can be found on the website www.vinarskecentrum.cz.

The palace chapel, art gallery and mirror room are no less popular. All rooms are decorated in the best traditions of the time - there are ceiling murals, cassette ceilings, gilded stucco molding, spiral staircases, wall paintings and other elements.

Practical information

• Address: Zamek 1, Valtice 691 42, Czech Republic.
• Each part of Valtice has its own work schedule. In most cases, it starts from 9 am and lasts until 4 or 5 pm depending on the time of year.
• The same is true with the cost of admission tickets - it can be 80-300 CZK. Children under 6 years old will not have to pay entrance fees. For more information, visit the official website www.zamek-valtice.cz/en.

How to get to Lednice from Prague?

No direct flights go from the Czech capital to the castle complex, so the question of how to get from Prague to Lednice Castle arises quite often. Our tips will help you figure this out.

• At the main bus station in Prague (Prague ÚAN Florenc), take bus number 850 from FlixBus;
• Get off at the Brno Hotel Grand station. Travel time - 2 hours 45 minutes. The fare is from 10 to 17 €;
• Walk to Brno hl.n. (about 600 m);
• Take the Czech Railways train R;
• Follow to the Podivin station. The road takes about 30 minutes. A ticket costs about 4 €.

• At the station Praha hl.n. take the Czech Railways Rj train and ride to Breclav. Travel time - 3 hours. Fare - from 10 to 16 €.
• Take the Os train, owned by the same carrier, and continue to Lednice station. On the road will take no more than half an hour. Tickets cost 1 €.

Useful Tips

Having decided to visit the castles of Lednice and Valtice, take note of the advice of those who were lucky to visit there:

1. A visit to the castle complex is worth the whole day. Moreover, you need to arrive early, while there is not a large influx of tourists;
2. Use the services of a guide to explore local attractions. Group tours start every hour;
3. Tourists who come to the Lednice-Valtitsa complex by personal or rented transport can leave it in one of 3 free parking lots. Two of them are on the streets of st. Slovácká and April 21, the third - at the information center on Castle Square. The distance from the parking to the castle is 450, 250 and 140 m, respectively. There are also paid parking lots in Lednice - one of them is located 300 m from the palace on ul. Břeclavská. Cost - about 20 CZK per hour;
4. In autumn and winter, getting inside the castles as part of the excursion group is possible only on weekends;

5. In the tasting rooms of Valtice, you will probably be offered to buy Czech wine at 30-50 CZK per 100 grams. If you do not want to overpay, go to one of the city's vinaris - there is exactly the same choice, only a little cheaper (saving 10-15%);
6. The ideal time to visit Lednice and Valtice is considered spring-summer. This period is very beautiful here;
7. By presenting tickets from the National Wine Salon, you can get a 10% discount on visiting Valtice Castle;
8. In order not to pay money for using the camera, turn off the flash on it;
9. Getting to the Lednice Valtice wine cellars is not so easy, because at the same time there can be no more than 250 people. The rest have to wait for their turn from the street. Vinarsha. Avoid these inconveniences by pre-booking by phone;
10. If you want to enter the territory of the complex after hours, get ready to pay a double tariff for admission;
11. For those who plan to visit the cultural landscape of Lednice-Valtice on their own, we advise you to look at the information center. Here you will be given free maps and guides. Refuse them is not worth it. Firstly, the main architectural objects of the complex are indicated there, and secondly, with them you will have less chance of getting lost.

Lednice Castle, as well as the neighboring Valtice, combines the natural beauty of nature and the grandeur of human craftsmanship. We are sure that a walk through the territory of this amazing complex will leave a lot of vivid impressions.

Video: walk around the Lednice castle.