Valtice Castle

Valtice Castle stands at the southern edge of Moravia, barely five kilometres from the Austrian border, surrounded by vineyards that stretch as far as the eye can see. Along with Lednice Castle 10 kilometres to the north, it anchors the UNESCO Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape — a 200-square-kilometre designed parkland that was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996 as one of the grandest aristocratic landscape compositions in Central Europe. Valtice is the more overtly Baroque of the two residences, its long cream-and-white facade and symmetrical courtyard speaking the confident architectural language of the early eighteenth century rather than the Romantic Gothic revivalism of Lednice.

The Liechtenstein family acquired Valtice in 1387 and held it — with brief interruptions — until 1945, making it the longest-held primary seat of one of Europe's most powerful dynasties. The medieval fortification was progressively transformed into a grand Baroque palace during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The key figure in this transformation was Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, one of the most celebrated Baroque architects in the Habsburg world, who designed significant parts of the main building and chapel around 1700. Fischer von Erlach is also credited with the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna and the Kollegienkirche in Salzburg — Valtice sits firmly in that league of prestige commissions. After the Second World War, the estate was confiscated under the Beneš decrees and the Liechtenstein family was expelled from Czechoslovakia.

The castle today is the home of the National Wine Salon of the Czech Republic, an institution that holds an annual blind-tasting competition to select the 100 finest Czech wines of the year. The results are permanently displayed in the historic vaulted cellars beneath the palace, where visitors can taste all 100 winning wines at a single entry price. This makes Valtice arguably the best single location in the country to survey the full range of Czech viticulture, and the cellars draw wine enthusiasts from across Europe. The broader Lednice-Valtice landscape is scattered with monumental follies commissioned by successive Liechtenstein princes: a triumphal arch, a hunting lodge in the Gothic style (Janohrad), a Roman-style aqueduct, a Baroque chapel dedicated to the Three Graces, and the famous minaret at Lednice — all connected by avenues of oak and lime trees.

Valtice is less visited than Lednice, which gives it a more relaxed atmosphere during the main season and makes it easier to get onto guided tours without long waits. The town itself is small but pleasant, with several wine bars and restaurants serving local Moravian cuisine. For visitors combining both UNESCO sites, Valtice is best saved for the afternoon: start at Lednice in the morning, cycle or drive through the park, and end the day with the wine cellar experience at Valtice.