Valtice Castle - Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
Südmähren, Czechia
10.04.2023
Schloss Valtice – A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Southern Moravia, Czech Republic
Schloss Valtice, also known as Valtice Castle, is a magnificent Baroque residence located in the town of Valtice in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It is one of the most important architectural landmarks in the country and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
The history of Schloss Valtice dates back to the 11th century when a wooden fortress stood on this site. In the 14th century, it was rebuilt as a Gothic castle and then later was transformed into a Renaissance chateau. However, it was in the 17th and 18th centuries that the castle underwent major renovations and was transformed into the grand Baroque residence that we see today.
One of the most notable features of Schloss Valtice is its beautiful gardens, which were designed in the French Baroque style. The gardens cover an area of 200 hectares and include fountains, sculptures, and a small lake. They are a perfect example of the Baroque concept of "garden architecture" and are considered to be one of the most significant Baroque gardens in Europe.
Inside the castle, visitors can explore the luxurious apartments of the noble families who once lived here, including the Liechtenstein family, who owned the castle for over 700 years. The interior of the castle is adorned with stunning frescoes, intricate stucco work, and exquisite furnishings, showcasing the wealth and power of the aristocracy during the Baroque period.
Valtice Castle is also known for its extensive wine cellars, which were used to store and age the famous wines produced in the surrounding vineyards. Today, visitors can take a tour of the cellars and even sample some of the delicious wines.
This magnificent castle is not only a testament to Baroque architecture and design, but it also played an important role in the history of the Czech Republic. In 1919, the Treaty of St. Germain was signed here, which led to the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the establishment of the independent Czechoslovakia.
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Between the 17th and 20th centuries, the ruling dukes of Liechtenstein transformed their domains in southern Moravia into a striking landscape. It married Baroque architecture (mainly the work of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach) and the classical and neo-Gothic style of the castles of Lednice and Valtice with countryside fashioned according to English romantic principles of landscape architecture. At 200 km2 , it is one of the largest artificial landscapes in Europe.
Valtice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvalcɪtsɛ]; German: Feldsberg) is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. It is known as part of Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
The Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape (also Lednice–Valtice Area or Lednice–Valtice Complex, Czech: Lednicko-valtický areál) is a cultural-natural landscape complex of 283.09 square kilometres (109.30 sq mi) in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It comprises the municipalities of Lednice, Valtice and Hlohovec, and the rural area of Břeclav.
In 1996, the Lednice-Valtice Area was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its unique mix of Baroque, Neolassical, and neo-Gothic architecture, and its history as a cultural landscape designed intentionally by a single family. It is adjacent to the Pálava Landscape Protected Area (Pálava Biosphere Reserve), a biosphere reserve registered by UNESCO several years before. The close proximity of two cultural landscapes protected by UNESCO is unique.
