The Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, also called the Lednice–Valtice Area or Lednice–Valtice Complex (in Czech, Lednicko-valtický areál), is a special area that combines culture and nature. It covers 283.09 square kilometers (109.30 square miles) in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. This area includes the towns of Lednice, Valtice, and Hlohovec, as well as the rural area of Břeclav.

In 1996, the Lednice–Valtice Area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its unique mix of Baroque, Neoclassical, and neo-Gothic buildings. It also has a special history as a cultural landscape designed intentionally by one family. This area is next to the Pálava Landscape Protected Area, also known as the Pálava Biosphere Reserve, which was registered by UNESCO earlier. The fact that two UNESCO-protected cultural landscapes are so close to each other is rare.

History

The House of Liechtenstein obtained Valtice Castle (also known as Feldsberg) in 1249, which began their presence in the region. The castle was the main home of the Liechtenstein family for 700 years, until 1939 and World War II. Valtice Castle was expanded in the late Romanesque style during the first half of the 13th century but suffered serious damage during the Hussite Wars. It was later rebuilt in the Baroque style by Charles I, Prince of Liechtenstein. From the 14th century, Lednice (also called Eisgrub) was a fortified manor part of the Valtice estate. Starting in 1680, it was expanded into a palace and redesigned in the Tudor Gothic Revival style (then called "Old English style") between 1846 and 1858 by Prince Aloys II.

The Princes of Liechtenstein combined their properties, Feldsberg (Valtice) and Eisgrub (Lednice), into a single large private park between the 17th and 20th centuries. In the 19th century, they continued developing the area as a traditional English-style landscape park. Feldsberg was part of Austria until 1919, while Eisgrub belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia. Both were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire under Habsburg rule, with the Austrian-Bohemian border passing through the park between the two castles. The 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain stated that Feldsberg, which was about 97% inhabited by German-speaking Lower Austrians in 1910, would become part of Czechoslovakia.

The Baroque and neo-Gothic buildings of the chateaux are combined with smaller structures and a landscape designed using English principles of landscape architecture. In 1715, a 7 km (4.3 miles) long landscape avenue and road connected the two chateaux. This road was later named after the poet Petr Bezruč, who wrote a poem titled Valčice describing a journey to Lednice after tasting wine in Valtice. Although both Lednice and Valtice have grown since then, and the road no longer connects the chateaux as originally planned, much of the avenue remains in use today. The Lednice Ponds are located between Valtice and the villages of Lednice and Hlohovec, along with the Mlýnský, Prostřední, Hlohovecký, and Nesyt Ponds. A large portion of the cultural landscape includes pine forests called "Pine-wood" (Boří les) and riparian forests near the Thaya River.

In 1918, the region became part of the new Czechoslovakia. The Liechtenstein family opposed the annexation of Czech territory into Sudetenland by Nazi Germany. As a result, the Nazis confiscated their properties, and the family moved to Vaduz in 1939. After World War II, the Beneš decrees led to the confiscation of all Liechtenstein property in Czechoslovakia, as the Czech state continues to view the family as German in nationality. The family made several legal requests for the return of their properties, but the communist government did not support returning land to exiled aristocrats.

After the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution in 1989, the Liechtenstein descendants again tried to reclaim their properties. These requests were repeatedly denied by the Czech state, which currently owns the properties.

Features

The main parts of the area include:

• Chateau Valtice (German: Schloss Feldsberg) and its connected town of Valtice
• Lednice Castle (German: Schloss Eisgrub) and its connected village of Lednice
• The village of Hlohovec

In addition to the castles, there are many large and small homes and buildings throughout the landscape. These often serve as chateau or hunting lodges.

• The Colonnade − Rajsna (German: Reistna) — a Neoclassical colonnade on top of a hill ridge above Valtice (like a gloriette), built in the 1810s to 1820s
• Belvedere — a landscape feature that offers a view
• Rendezvous (or Temple of Diana) — a hunting lodge shaped like a Neoclassical arch, built in the 1810s
• St Hubert Chapel (Kaple svatého Huberta) — a Gothic Revival column structure from the 1850s, dedicated to the patron saint of hunters, located in the Pine wood
• Border House (Hraniční zámeček) — a Classicist chateau built in the 1820s on the former (until 1920) border between Lower Austria and Moravia

• Temple of the Three Graces (Tři Grácie) — a semicircular gallery with statues of Sciences, Muses, and the Three Graces, built in the 1820s
• Pond House (Rybniční zámeček) — located at the shore of one of the Lednice Ponds

• Nový dvůr (German: Neuhof, New Farm) — a Neoclassical farm completed in 1809, originally used for raising sheep, now used for horse breeding
• Apollo Temple (Apollónův chrám) — a Neoclassical hunting lodge from the 1810s, located on the shore of one of the Lednice Ponds
• Hunting Lodge (Lovecký zámeček) — a Neoclassical house built in 1806
• John's Castle (Janův hrad or Janohrad) — a Gothic Revival-style folly resembling artificial ruins (Czech: umělá zřícenina, German: künstliche Ruine), completed in 1810
• Minaret — a Moorish Revival-style minaret observation tower 62 meters (203 feet) tall, located in the Lednice Castle garden (completed in 1804). It offers a view of the entire landscape. On clear days, the Pálava Hills and Malé Karpaty Mountains can also be seen from the tower.
• Obelisk — an obelisk built to honor the peace treaty of Campo Formio (1798), the last remaining of many obelisks originally built by the Liechtensteins in the area

• Pohansko — an Empire-style hunting lodge completed after 1812, which houses an exhibition from the Břeclav Town Museum. Nearby are an important archaeological site of Great Moravian remains and reconstructed parts of the Czechoslovak border fortifications
• Lány — an Empire-style hunting lodge from the early 19th century

Preservation

The garden follies and conservatory of Lednice Park were added to the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund because their condition was getting worse due to not enough money. Before 1998, the Fund had studied how to preserve Lednice and Valtice Castles. After 1998, the Fund helped restore the Valtice Rendezvous folly as an example project with support from American Express. When the yearly tourist season ended in the Czech Republic, the castle became the most visited place in the country after new attractions were added to the site.

Gallery

• Lednice Castle
• Greenhouse at Lednice Castle
• Inside the Greenhouse
• View from Lednice Castle Garden
• Riding Hall at Lednice Castle
• Middle Pond at Lednice
• Valtice Castle
• Border House
• John's Castle
• Hunting Lodge