The Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape (also Lednice–Valtice Area or Lednice–Valtice Complex, cs, Lednicko-valtický areál) is a cultural-natural landscape complex of in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It comprises the municipalities of

Lednice Lednice (; german: Eisgrub) is a municipality and village in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It is known as part of Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritag ...

Valtice Valtice (; 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 town ...

and Hlohovec, and the rural area of

Břeclav Břeclav (; german: Lundenburg) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Town parts of Charvátská Nová Ves and Poštorná are administrative parts of Břeclav. Etymol ...

. In 1996, the Lednice-Valtice Area was registered on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

because of its unique mix of Baroque, Neolassical, and

neo-Gothic architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, 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.

History

The

House of Liechtenstein The House of Liechtenstein, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty's ...

acquired a castle in Lednice in 1249, which marked the beginning of their settlement in the area. It remained the principal Liechtenstein residence for 700 years, until 1939 and World War II.

17th–19th centuries

The Dukes of Liechtenstein transformed their properties into one large and designed private park between the 17th and 20th centuries. During the 19th century, the Dukes continued transforming the area as a large traditional

English landscape park The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

. The Baroque and neo-Gothic architecture of their chateaux are married with smaller buildings and a landscape that was fashioned according to the English principles of landscape architecture. In 1715 these two chateaux (castles) were connected by a landscape allée and road, later renamed for the poet

Petr Bezruč Petr Bezruč () was the pseudonym of Vladimír Vašek (; 15 September 1867 – 17 February 1958), a Czech poet and short story writer who was associated with the region of Austrian Silesia. His most notable work is ''Silesian Songs,'' a coll ...

. The Lednice Ponds are situated between the town of Valtice and villages of Lednice and Hlohovec; as are the ''Mlýnský'', ''Prostřední'', ''Hlohovecký'', and ''Nesyt'' Ponds. A substantial part of the cultural landscape complex is covered in

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

forests, known as the "Pine−wood" (''Boří les''), and in areas adjacent to the

Thaya The Thaya ( cs, Dyje ) is a river in Central Europe, the longest tributary to the river Morava. Its drainage basin is . It is ( with its longest source river German Thaya) long and meanders from west to east in the border area between Lower Au ...

River with

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered chann ...

20th century

In 1918 the region became part of new

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The Liechtenstein family opposed the annexation of Czech territory into Sudetenland by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, and as a consequence their properties were confiscated by the Nazis, and the family then relocated to

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

in 1939. After World War II the family made several legal attempts for restitution of the properties. Post-war, they had passed into ownership of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

: its Communist regime did not support returning large estates to exiled aristocratic landowners. After the Czechoslovakian

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

in 1989, the Liechtenstein descendants again renewed legal attempts for restitution, which were denied by the Czech state, the present day owner of the properties.

Features

The principal elements are: * Chateau Valtice and its contiguous town of

* Lednice Castle and its contiguous village of

* The village of Hlohovec

Pavilions and follies

In addition to the castles, there are many large to small residential

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s located throughout the designed landscape, often serving as chateau or hunting lodges. * The Colonnade − ''Rajsna'' (German: ''Reistna'')
— a Neoclassical

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

on the top of a hill ridge above

(like a

gloriette A gloriette (from the 12th-century French ''gloire'' meaning "little room") is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings. The structural execution and shape can vary greatly, often in the form ...

) from the 1810s to 1820s * Belvedere
— a

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

landscape element. * Rendezvous (or Temple of Diana)
— a hunting lodge in a form of a Neoclassical arch from the 1810s * St Hubert Chapel (''Kaple svatého Huberta'')
— a Gothic Revival column structure from the 1850s dedicated to the patron saint of hunters, situated in the Pine wood * Border House (''Hraniční zámeček'')
— a

Classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

chateau built in the 1820s directly on the former (until 1920) borderline between

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

and

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

* Temple of the Three Graces (''Tři Grácie'')
— a semicircle

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

with allegorical statues of Sciences and Muses and a statue of the Three Graces from the 1820s * Pond House (''Rybniční zámeček'')
— at the shore of one of the Lednice Ponds Castle Nový dvůr 01

* Nový dvůr (German: ''Neuhof'', New Farm) — a Neoclassical

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

finished in 1809, originally used for

sheep husbandry Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk ( sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepski ...

, nowadays for horse breeding *

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

Temple (''Apollónův chrám'')
— a Neoclassical hunting lodge from the 1810s, ashore of one of the Lednice Ponds * Hunting Lodge (''Lovecký zámeček'')
— a Neoclassical house from 1806 * John's Castle (''Janův hrad'' or ''Janohrad'')
— a

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

of "artificial ruins" ( cs, umělá zřícenina, german: künstliche Ruine) in style of a castle, finished in 1810 * Minaret
— a

Moorish Revival style Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

"minaret"

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

high, located in the Lednice Castle garden (finished in 1804), that provides a view of the entire landscape. On clear days the Pálava Hills and Malé Karpaty Mountains can also be seen from the towers. * Obelisk
— an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

erected in memory of the peace

treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...

(1798)

* Pohansko
— an Empire-style hunting lodge finished after 1812, it houses an exhibition of

Town Museum:
close to the lodge there are both an important archaeological site of

Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...

n remains and reconstructed parts of the

Czechoslovak border fortifications Czechoslovakia built a system of border fortifications as well as some fortified defensive lines inland, from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany. The objective of the fortifications was to prevent t ...

* Lány
— an Empire-style hunting lodge from the beginning of the 19th century

Preservation

The garden

follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...

and the conservatory of Lednice Park were listed in the

1998 World Monuments Watch The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund (WMF) and American Express to call to action and challenge government authorities responsible for important cultura ...

by the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

, for their deteriorating condition resulting from insufficient financial resources. The Fund had previously studied the preservation of Lednice and Valtice Castles, and after 1998 it helped fund restoration of the Valtice Rendezvous folly as a demonstration project with support from American Express.Elaine Louie, New York Times, "Saving Endangered Art and Architecture," June 25, 1998.
/ref>

Gallery

Zámek - Lednice 2.jpg, Lednice Castle Lednice-skleník2009a.jpg, Castle Greenhouse in Lednice Lednice interier skleniku.jpg, Interior of the greenhouse Zamek Lednice Morava 40.JPG, From the Lednice Castle garden Lednice riding hall and stables, Lednice, Czech Republic 01.jpg, Lednice Castle
Riding-Hall LednickeRybniky.jpg, The ''Prostřední'' (Middle) one of the Lednice Ponds Valtice castle courtyard.JPG, Valtice Castle Hlohovec cz 01.jpg, Border House Janův hrad (4).jpg, John's Castle Jadgschlösschen.jpg, Hunting Lodge

References

Sources

* Kordiovský, Emil – Klanicová Evženie (eds.), ''Město Břeclav'', Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost, Brno (2001). * Památkový ústav v Brně: text on the reverse of a tourist map, Shocart, Zlín (1998).

External links

UNESCO Czech heritage.org: Official Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape websiteWorld Monuments Fund.org: ''Conservation & Economic Enhancement Plan for Valtice Zamek & its Environs,'' 1993.

World Monuments Fund.org: ''Conservation & Economic Enhancement Plan for Lednice Zamek & its Environs,'' 1995.

Lednicko-valticky-areal.cz" Lednice-Valtice Area
�� {{DEFAULTSORT:Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape Cultural landscapes Buildings and structures in the South Moravian Region Castles in the South Moravian Region Continental gardens in the English Landscape Garden style Folly buildings Parks in the Czech Republic Geography of the South Moravian Region Tourist attractions in the South Moravian Region World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic