Overview of the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape

• History of the UNESCO World Heritage Site – Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
• Lednice
  • Lednice Castle
  • Lednice Castle Gardens
  • Lednice Dávná
  • Lednice Torture Museum
• Valtice
  • Valtice Palace
  • Kolonada Reistna
  • Chateau Valtice

History of the UNESCO World Heritage Site – Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape

The area between Lednice and Valtice, a staggering 200 km², was created as an artificial landscape from the 17th to the 20th century. The areas in southern Moravia belonged to the Dukes of Lichtenstein (one of the three richest families in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy) from the mid 13th century to the end of the 20th century.

The area mixes Baroque architecture, classical and neo-Gothic style architecture as well as the English romantic principles of landscape architecture. In 1996 the Lednice-Valtice Area was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site.

“The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape is an outstanding artistic creation that succeeds in bringing together in harmony cultural monuments from successive periods and both indigenous and exotic natural elements to create an outstanding work of human creativity.”

Lednice

The village of Lednice has some 2200 inhabitants today. It came into the hands of the Lichtenstein family in the mid. 1200s (while it was still called Eisgrub = ice pit) and was part of their main estates until the 20th century.

Lednice Castle

The Lednice Castle as we can see it today began as a Renaissance villa under the ownership of the Lichtenstein family around 1570 and was progressively changed and remodelled to reflect Baroque, Classical and Neo-Gothic fashions. The 1850 “Gothic Revival remodelling” changed the house to the one we can visit today. According to the leaflet they give you when you join a tour it was this remodel that brought the castle “into harmony with the prevailing Romanticism of this part of the landscape”.

The tour starts in the entrance hall, with is dominated by a self-supporting wooden staircase, a massive golden chandelier (it weights 690kg and is 15 meters long!) and portraits of the Lichtenstein princes up on the wall. These three portraits are the only ones that survived from the ancestral gallery.

Following the entrance hall is a antler-decorated hallway with vaulted ceilings that leads to a hunting room and a bathroom from the mid 19th century. The toilet (which has the form of a fish, with it’s mouth turned up) is one of only two that survived to this day.

After a few more rooms, among which are bedrooms, collection rooms and sitting rooms the next stop is the knights hall (first picture), which supposedly emulates a greathall from the middle ages, but in a romantic style. The brass chandeliers are equipped with candles, even though electricity was installed in the château in 1903. The figures on the wall are facsimiles of knights armour, only one is real – the one with the pointed shoes.

The red smoking hall has a wooden ceiling decorated with twelve coats of arms (six on each side) which were related to the Lichtenstein family. A glass door connects the lounge with the largest of the greenhouses (92 meters long, 13m wide and 10 meters high), which houses about 250 different plants.

The turquoise room (these places really have a penchant to just call the rooms by their wall colour, but if you have several “sitting rooms” you have to distinguish them by something, I guess) is the only place in the castle where you can still see the original wallpaper made from suede leather. Originally they were a lot more green than they are today (zoom in above the door behind the table). Since the coat of arms of the Lichtenstein family features two eagles the eagle is a recurring motif all over their former properties. Two more things to note inside this room are the intricately decorated ceiling, made from walnut, and the floor covered with inlaid parquet flooring, which is mostly covered by an ugly carpet today to protect it from all the visitors.

After around an hour the tour ends in the blue music hall, the largest room in the château. Musicians played in the corners of the room while the middle was used for dancing. The hall is filled to the brim with furnishings, paintings and trinkets from different northern and eastern European cultures, all brought into existence by master craftsmen. And once again the ceiling has to be pointed out specifically, since it is one of the best Neogothic ceilings in Europe, made from lindenwood.

Lednice Castle Gardens

The park of the Lednice country house was designed in an English garden style. It includes several architectural buildings: small temples, hunting castles, an arch, a 60 meter high Minaret, greenhouses and other minor structures, like fountains in a Romantic style. The park also includes an artificial lake with 16 small islands.

Lednice Dávná

The museum of “Old Lednice” is a local history museum that depicts the environment of Lednice from 1917 to 1935, while Czechoslovakia was still a young democratic republic (today the Czech call it First Republic) under its first president Tomáš Masaryk.

It is not a traditional museum, but rather a space that is set up like a street from a hundred years ago. You enter through a place that is set up to be a median household. On the “street” that follows are a cafe, a barbershop, a tailor’s shop, etc.

Lednice Torture Museum

The Museum of Torture Instruments and Torture in Lednice is a short walk away from the castle grounds. It is a private owned collection of genuine and replicated torture instruments from 500 B.C. until the 20th century. The instruments are accompanied by drawings or photographs of how they were used and some written explanations are given how and when certain equipment was used (ask for the English translation at the entrance), so it is definitely not a museum for the faint hearted or previously traumatised.

The exhibits are mostly from Europe, with some from South-East Asia and others from European Colonies over the centuries. An executioners sword (the actual one) from Lednice is also included in the museum and one of the few things that is stored in a glass case.

Some people might find this kind of exhibition macabre, but in my opinion it is important to remind ourselves how cruel humans can be and have been. It is on us to make sure some of these things will never be repeated and to speak up when they are.

Valtice

The town of Valtice has some 3600 inhabitants today. The Lichtenstein family slowly bought up parts of the estate in the late decades of the 1300s (while it was still called Feldberg). In the 1400s the town was pillaged, burned down and almost erased by several wars. It was eventually rebuilt in the 16th century and since then it was part of the main Lichtenstein estates – until the 20th century. However even that didn’t save the town from being sacked and destroyed several times more until the late 1700s.

Feldberg was part of Lower Austria until the end of WWI when it was annexed by the newly established Czechoslovakia and was renamed Valtice. The Liechtenstein family lived there even after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, until 1939. The town was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1938 until the end of WWII when the remaining German population was forced to leave the town and the castle was confiscated by the Czechoslovak government. Today the castle is managed by the Czech National Heritage Institute.

Valtice is also known as a centre of wine production in Moravia. The National Wine Centre and the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic reside in the Valitce Château. The Valtice Palace also has its own wine cellar, offering tastings in a royal setting.

Valtice Palace

The foundations of the Valtice Palace reach back to the middle ages, but it was remodelled several times. First in the style of the Renaissance, then Mannerist and lastly in a Baroque style which can still be seen today. The neighbouring church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is build in the same Baroque style. Both buildings dominate the scenery in the town centre.

While the palace offers several tours, the most of the inside can be seen during the grand representation tour (260 CZK ≈ 10,60€). During the tour visitors can see 20+ rooms representing how the princes lived. Once again the tour is only in Czech. If you’d want to do all of the tours it would cost a whopping 990 CZK ≈ 40,25€. You can visit the castle grounds for free, look into the inner courtyard and over the herb garden from the terrace of the Hotel Hotel Anton Florian or it’s public restaurant Zlatá Terasa located in the left wing of Valtice Palace.

Kolonáda Reistna

The arch was built in the early 1700s as both a viewing spot over the Lednice-Valtice Area and a monument to prince Jan I of Liechtensteins brother Philip and Ludwig, as well as his deceased father Franz Josef I.

Today the Colonnade on Reisten hill is a bit hard to reach. While it was a popular tourist spot in the 19th century and roads were created for horse drawn carriages to reach it, it was used by the military during the Communist era. During that time it was damaged and its restoration was only started after 1989 (after the Velvet Revolution).

Today most of it’s splendor has been restored and the view over the valley (and on good weather days even into Austria) is amazing from the rooftop terrace. Even after opening hours you can still look down the wine fields to the town of Valtice from the ground level.

Temple of Diana

The Temple of Diana (ancient greek patroness of the countryside and nature, hunters, wildlife, childbirth, crossroads, the night, and the Moon.) from 1812, is one of the other meaningful buildings in the Valice area. This four storey building in the Empire style features a three storey high arch and was used as a hunting lodge.

Château Valtice

Valtice is also known as a centre of wine production in Moravia. The National Wine Centre and the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic both reside in the Château Valitce. The Valtice Palace also has its own wine cellar, offering tastings in a setting from 1430.

Château Valtice produces over 30 different varieties of wine, with white wines as the predominant version.

Wine tasting

There are eight different places to do a wine tasting in Valtice, with four offering wine tastings on the regular. You can find more information on the Chateau Valtice Website.

Der Beitrag Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape – a UNESCO World Heritage Site erschien zuerst auf Kaya Wanderlust.

• History of Bitov Castle
• Visiting Bitov Castle – Guided Tour
• FAQ about visiting Bitov Castle

History of Bitov Castle

TLDR: Click here to jump to the tour

Bitov Castle is one of the oldest still standing castles in the Czech Republic. Earliest records of a fortification in the spot the Bitov Castle you can visit today are from 1060, as a wooden fort between the two rivers Zeletavka and Dyje. During the 12th century it was upgraded to a stone-walled fortification and after 1298 into a castle under the reign of the Lichtenburgs. This family held the castle until 1572 when the last male heir with the family name died. Their remains are buried in the castles chapel.

The next remodel of the castle happened after 1612 when the Moravian family of Jankovsky of Vlasim had it redone in the style of Early European Baroque. In 1755 the castle fell to the Counts of Daun who were subjects of the Habsburgs.

Eventually Bitov Castle was remodelled again in the 1800s into the neo-Gothic style it still has today. The last family who owned the castle were the Haas of Hasenfels, owners of the West Bohemian porcelain factories (which were producing porcelain until 2011). During their ownership the castle grounds were turned into one of the largest private zoos in the country. Some of that zoo can still be seen today, although of course no tigers live here anymore.

Today the estate is managed by the National Heritage Institute and since 1970s more than 80 million CZK have been spent on its renovation. Although the tours they offer are only in Czech they had the most comprehensive selection of languages available in printed versions.

While it seems today like the castle is located a little weirdly, away from the village of Bitov, it hasn’t always been this way. Until 1935 the village of Bitov was directly beneath the castle, but it was flooded when the Vranov reservoir was finished, leaving only the castle behind.

Visiting Bitov Castle – Guided Tour

TLDR: Click here to jump to the FAQ about visiting Bitov Castle

The tour starts in the yard of the fortification, then immediately enters the inner courtyard, followed by the knights hall. Inside this hall are two knight statues, one of which depicting castle patron St. George subduing a dragon. More imposingly the hall also features a lifesize stuffed knight in armour on a stuffed horse. The walls and ceiling of this hall are painted in a 3D manner, making it look like the walls are dressed in stone, adorned with wood carvings and topped by stucco, instead of the plain plaster they actually are. The single-tier chandelier, made from wrought tin, is made to look like it’s covered in flowers and greenery.

After the former chapel, then hall of ancestors you enter a bedroom. It has an adorned sleeping area, as well as a praying area in front of the window. From this bedroom a row of curtain-covered-arches lead into the next rooms.

First into the dining room of the family. The carvings on the seats are supposed to emulate ivory carvings, a status symbol for the Neo-Gothic style of the 10th century. The table as you can see it today has been set with porcelain tableware which was produced by the Haas & Czjzek company.

The next room was the smokers lounge where the men met, drank and smoked. In the corner a shelf displays products from the porcelain factory in Slavkov near Karlovy Vary, where the money came from they used to buy this castle.

From the lounge you enter the music room, a small, but well equipped space which served as private entertainment, or as the stage for festivities in the adjacent ballroom. The ballroom is again covered in paintings, making it look like the walls and ceiling are more richly decorated than they were.

One of my favourite spaces in the castle was the ladies violet lounge, not because of the violet walls or the Empire style furniture, but because of the Siberian malachite tableware displayed on a sideboard, which had been a gift from Tsar Alexander I of Russia. It was allegedly inspired by Pompeii and the art of ancient Egypt. Talk about international!

Behind the ladies lounge is the gentlemens green lounge, because the men needed more space – there will be a third lounge, later. The pictures on the wall behind the table are of the grandparents of Baron Jitt Haas – August Haas with his wife. On another wall is an embroidered coat of arms of the Haas family and a painting of the porcélain factory Haas & Czjzek in Slaykov near Karlovy Vary, which is also painted on porcelain.

The balcony can be accessed from the green lounge and overlooks the convergence of the rivers Dyje and Zeletavka which flow around the castle. Even today only a few houses can be seen along the riverbed, everything else is just forest as far as you can see.

Next was the first hunting lounge (I did say there would be a third lounge later that was mainly or exclusively reserved for the men of the family). Its walls, lamps and even tables are covered with hunting trophies like animal skulls and antlers.

The next bedroom was used by Franz Daun as a master bedroom. It was eventually converted into a guest-room. The room is painted intricately again, features a bed, a free standing fireplace made from graphite and the skin of a lioness turned into the carpet…

After this room was another hunting lounge, this time, in addition to the walls, lamps and tables being covered with hunting trophies, there were also personalised hunting rifles from the different owners of this castle.

Another favourite room of mine in the castle was the study of Franz Daun. Above the table by the window are military deeds of the Daun family – like of the Commander Filip Lorenz Daun and Bishop Josef Albin Franze Daun from Salzburg and Passau, as well as a medal the field marshal Leopold Josef Daun got. The deed for one of the Dauns to become an Ehrenbürger (honoured citizen) of the township Vöttau (Bitov) on the wall opposite the desk is in German.

After all these normal (for a castle) rooms followed many, many rooms that make you think “wait… what?”: Starting with a library and mineral and butterfly collection room. Those aren’t odd in themselves, you often see collections in the houses of rich people, because they can afford it, but it is the start of a whole floor of curios.

Next comes the picture gallery of the Daun family, which was mostly kept intact even by the Haas family. Again, normal. Most “noble” families have galleries of themselves and their family heritage. Gotta justify their status somehow.

But then! The taxidermy rooms start. Bitov has become somewhat famous for them and for good reason. The first few were amassed by the Daun brothers Vladimir and Otakar during the 19th century, who studied natural sciences and zoology and travelled all over the world – bringing home mainly birds, but also other “hunting trophies” like young alligators, turtle and ostrich eggs, as well as the skulls of lions, zebras and wild goats.

Among the birds exhibited here in taxidermied form are:

• vulture
• golden eagle
• hummingbirds (tiniest of birds from South American rainforests)
• birds-of-paradise (also from the rainforest, often used to decorate hats and hairstyles)
• Quetzal (a sacred bird whose feathers were used for rituals and decorated the headdresses of Aztec rulers)

Then you get to the third taxidermy room and I promise you, you haven’t seen anything like it anywhere. 49 stuffed dogs are spread out over the floor, the largest collections of its kind in the world. It was put together by Baron Jit Haas from his favourite animals. All of them belonged to him and were tended to by the staff of the castle. There is a Great Dane, a Saint Bernard, a Dachshund, a Setter, a Boxer, and many, many others others. Even a Stable Pinscher is included in the exhibitions, which is almost extinct today. However, these were not all of the Barons dogs, the ones that he hadn’t stuffed were buried at the dog’s cemetery in a clearing next to the gates.

This love for animals (he also had a zoo with more exotic animals, I mention it later) made the Baron a disliked figure of the local nobility. Since he was not welcome in their inner circles he retreated into his castle and into the company of animals even more. He also found a unique way to mock them in return: He dressed up stuffed cats and squirrels in human clothes, supposedly to look like the people who mocked him.

The last two rooms in the castle tour were the dog kitchen and the main kitchen. The dogs kitchen was used, as the name suggests, to prepare food for the all the estates animals, but especially the dogs. Every dog had their own collar and towel, feeding took part in turns, by size of the animals. Today you can see pictures of Baron Jiri with his dogs and friends on the walls of the dogs kitchen.

The castle employed about 40 employees with their families, including a chef only for the dogs and a taxidermist.

Food for all the humans of the castle was prepared in the main kitchen. The tiled stove is a replica, from an old photograph – most old kitchen utensils, pots and containers are still original. The cabinet in the third picture, in front of the window is an old refrigerator. The top had an opening through which ice was put in. It cooled the inside of the cabinet until it melted. Then there was another hole that could be opened at the bottom to let the water out.

The tables in the kitchen are set with things the nobility liked to eat, like /stuffed) pheasants, partridges, venison and crayfish. Other things that have been conveyed from menus of the past are mashed potatoes, mushy legumes, pâtés, and various sweet baked goods. Since there were barely any salt deposits in the region most meals weren’t very salty. However, spices like cloves, pepper, cinnamon, saffron, lavender, rosemary and bay leaves were used for seasoning.

Castle garden & Zoo

Baron Jirí Julius Haas’ private Zoo was the largest of its kind at the time. It was open to the public for free on weekends and during special holidays (and the staff that was around made tips, by delighting the visitors with stories about the day to day life in the castle and their excentric employer), or on demand for a fee.

Back in the day a large number of aviaries were built, but only their foundations survived to this day. New ones have been built in their stead, although much lower in number. The zoo also had enclosures with guinea pigs and rabbits, among others, which were kept as food for other species of animals. Even ants! were displayed in the zoo. But the Barons favourite animal was a lioness which he bought as a baby from a circus. He named her Mietzi-Mausi (Mietz is the German equivalent to kitty and Mausi is a German cute-word for mouse), apparently after Disney.

FAQ about visiting Bitov Castle

Der Beitrag Visiting Bitov Castle – Czech Republic erschien zuerst auf Kaya Wanderlust.

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Overview of 4 days in Brno

• Where to stay in Brno
• What to do for 4 days in Brno
• Free things to do in Brno
• What and where to eat in Brno
• Map for 4 days in Brno

Where to stay in Brno

You can stay inside the inner city – Brno old town, or in the surrounding districts. Always consider the way from your stay to places you want to visit or eat at while booking, especially when you’re only staying a short time.

For your own apartment close to the inner city go with Kalina Apartments*. They have a modern design and are very colourful but not maximalist.

To get a great view over the city (from the upper floors) and breakfast every morning, while still being close to the city centre go with the Hotel Continental*.

Near the congress centre, a rich breakfast and free parking included, go with the OREA Congress Hotel Brno*. It’s built in a modern industrial style, with a lot of wood accents.

What to do for 4 days in Brno

Technical Museum

The technical museum in Brno has several permanent exhibitions covering different topics, such as: Brno city in the 19th century, the metal industry, cars and motorbikes through the decades, racing car development, photography, clockwork machines, etc.

As a very interactive museum there are several exhibits you can touch or otherwise interact with, for example in the car and motorbike exhibitions. There is also a big interactive room where physical concepts and technical developments are explained within games, a great space to explore for children and people still young at heart.

My favourite exhibition was on the clockwork machines. A super friendly staff member even turned on several of the exhibition pieces! There was an “automatic piano”, several instruments and even a miniature build of the astronomical clock in Prague.

It’s closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Mendel Museum of Masaryk University

Everyone has heard of Gregor Mendel, the “father of genetics”, in school. He lived and worked in a monastery Brno for a time. Today a museum is dedicated to his life, his work and his scientific discoveries on the grounds of the Abbey of St. Thomas. Several original instruments have survived the decades, as well as the handwritten manuscript of Versuche über Pflantzenhybriden (Experiments on Plant Hybridization), which was the culmination of his work on genealogical inheritance.

The museum has an interactive exhibition on DNA and the laws of genealogical inheritance and even lets visitors discover how the laboratory Mendel worked in might have looked back in the day.

The museum is located on Mendel Square, named after the same man. It’s closed on Monday.

Museum of Romani Culture

The museum of Romani culture in Brno is unique museum in all of Europe. The permanent exhibition documents the emergence of Romani and Sinti as an ethnic group, their possible origins and travel routes and their culture. One part of the musuem focuses on the discrimination they faced in many countries as well as the etymology of the different names (and slurs) that emerged globally. Another part focuses on the sub-groups and differences between them, yet another on Romani influence on historical and modern media.

It’s closed on Monday and Saturday.

Capuchin Crypt

Inside the crypt under the Capuchin Monastery in Brno, which has been opened to the public, many Capuchin monks found their final resting place. Due to a poverty vow, which included coffins being seen as a luxury, and a very specific combination of geological composition of the underground and a system of airflow that kept the rooms dry the bodies turned into natural mummies. It is an eerie place to visit and visitors are asked not to take pictures in respect of the dead. I’ll let you decide for yourself what that means for the many people who posted pictures in their google reviews of this place.

Brno underground

From 1874 onwards three water tanks were built under Žlutý Kopec, to provide Brno with water. These underground cathedrals aren’t used anymore for the water supply and are open for visitors.

Bunker 10-Z is one of two former nuclear shelters in Brno which can be visited today. Inside the bunker you can visit some of the original rooms, try on clothes from back then to take pictures and explore the maze of tunnels by yourself.

Underneath the vegetable market in Brno (and most of the inner city, actually) many cellars and passageways create a veritable labyrinth. Today this labyrinth has been secured and made acessible to the public. It contains food and beer/wine cellars, alchemist laboratories and even prisoner cells.

Read more here: Brno Underground – Experience & Expectations

Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul

Brno has many churches, of which I visited exactly one. The Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul (also called Petrov, like the hill it’s built on) was built in the Gothic style, with a Baroque interior in the 14th century, with it’s two signature towers being additions from the early 20th century.

A funny story from the churches history: “The bells of the cathedral ring at 11 am, instead of at noon. A long time ago the Swedish army laid siege to Brno. Their general claimed he would end the siege if his army failed to conquer the city before the bells started to ring at noon. For this reason the bells were rung one hour earlier and the city remained free.”

The tower is open every day, but during the winter and the summer seasons at different times. For a small entrance fee (under 2,50€) you can climb the tower of the cathedral, walk through the framework of the roof and take a look at some of the churches treasures.

You might also know this cathedral from the Czech Republic’s 10-crown coin. If you ever had a closer look at the back of it.

Free things to do in Brno

Visit the park around Špilberk Castle. This 17 hectar covers the hill around Špilberk castle. If you choose to walk from one sightseeing location to another you will inevitably walk through this park. From the top of the hill you have a nice view over the city. Many benches are dotted around the park, inviting you to take a break.

The castle Špilberk itself was also added to the Czech National Cultural Heritage list and houses the Brno City Museum.

See the astronomical clock of Brno – it’s very different from the one in Prague. You might even walk past it if you don’t know what to look for (despite it being 6 meters tall), since it doesn’t look like anything you might imagine a clock even remotely looking like. Moreover, it’s incredibly hard to actually tell the time using it. So much so that there is a manual next to it (which doesn’t really help either). However it is a favourite spot among kids at around 11am, when it releases a single glass marble.

Visit Brno Market. Yes, the one above the labyrinth. It is (allegedly) the oldest continuously operating market with vegetables and plants in Central Europe – the first mentions of it are older than the city itself. Many of the cities oldest buildings surround it, one of it being the Reduta Theatre – the oldest theatre building in Central Europe, originally opened in 1608.

See the 8m tall Equestrian Statue of Jobst of Moravia in front of the Church of St. Thomas. There are only two types of horse statues: Incredibly beautiful ones and some that are. This one is the latter.

What and where to eat for 4 days in Brno

The most beer per person in Europe is consumed in the Czech Republic. If you don’t like drinking beer, you might still want to consider dark beer marinaded pork ribs. You can find these at Lokál U Caipla. For 325 CZK ~ 13€ you get 500g of pork ribs roasted in their dark beer, served with sauce, mustard and bread.

Another meat heavy dish I urge you to try while in Czechia is pork knuckle. At Pivnice U Čápa they serve 1kg of pork knuckle on the bone, with crispy sourdough bread, pickles (cucumber, carrot, onion, chili), mustard, coleslaw and remoulade.

For breakfast I recommend Café Placzek where you can get, among more international choices, the traditional Bohemian Palačinky. Palačinky are a crepe like meal, which are filled with jam, rolled up and served with whipped cream. At the cafe they flipped the script a bit and serve them filled with vanilla cream and topped with mango sauce.

I found a great recipe for Palačinky on Cook like Czechs.

If you are in the mood for something sweet, Kafec Café has a great selection of waffles and hot drinks. I had the plum one, which was not my favourite, my friend hat an “apple pie style” one, which was delicious.

I had the best coffee in Brno at a KOFI KOFI coffee bike. I had several of them, one on the Moravské nám. corner of Moravian square park, one at Šilingrovo náměstí and one near the main bus stop. Good Latte Macchiatos across the board.

As a well connected big city Brno also has great food choices for international cuisine. One of them is MANYA Sushi & Sake Izakaya which serves Japanese dishes. I can recommend their duck hoisin gyoza and the Karaage don (crispy chicken on rice, spicy mayo, pickled radishes, cucumbers, togarashi) all served on beautiful traditional Japanese pottery.

For the road you can also get delicious bubble tea at Geicha Brno.

Map of 4 days in Brno

How to read the map: green are things to see, blue are places to visit and orange are where to eat and drink.

You can save the map to your Google Maps for your 4 days in Brno by clicking here.

Der Beitrag 4 days in Brno – Czech Republic erschien zuerst auf Kaya Wanderlust.

The Brno Underground Experience

• Labyrinth under the vegetable market
• Inside Brnos water tanks under Žlutý Kopec
• Anti-aircraft / atomic bomb shelter below Brno Castle
• Brno Underground – Experience
• Where to get the tickets?

All locations mentioned below are closed on Mondays!

Labyrinth under the vegetable market

Underneath the vegetable market in Brno (and most of the inner city, actually) many cellars and passageways create a veritable labyrinth. From the surface several flights of stairs descend six to eight meters underground and lead into this slice of lived history. From food and beer/wine cellars to alchemist laboratories and even cells, the underground space in Brno hosted many things during it’s existence.

When you take a tour of the space, either with an audio guide or with a guide, you learn about these underground spaces, how and why they came to be, how they were used and how dangerous they were and still are to this date. Some of the old cellars were transformed into museum rooms, exhibiting archeological findings from long before even these places existed. Other exhibited items include instruments for punishment of dishonest craftsmen and merchants, which were used in the 17th century in the marketplace above, such as a pillory, whips and torture equipment as well as a “cage of fools” (see the gallery below).

Inside Brnos water tanks under Žlutý Kopec

Water is one of the necessities of human life. For the longest time of human existence having water readily available was one of the major struggles of society. And the more people congregated in a place, the less water was there to go around.

In 1874 Brnos water problem was solved with engineering, as the construction of the first water tank was finished. This colossal structure was built deep underground from bricks, without steel, wood or concrete. And yet it has held up over the centuries and is still safe to walk in today. As soon as 1894 a second water tank was needed. This one was built from the same materials, but with a slightly different layout and in a bigger size.

The third and largest water tank is also the newest one. On contrast to the other two this one was built from concrete and finished in 1917. Even more so than the other two it’s many columns and domed ceiling give strong impressions of being inside a cathedral. Inside this area of the tanks there are also changing art installations. When I was there it was a sound and light show, which happened once an hour.

All three water tanks are located in the same area, underneath what today is a park (with benches that invite you to soak in the sun after spending so much time underground) on the elevated area of Žlutý kopec east of the inner city of Brno.

You can visit the Žlutý kopec water tanks individually, with an audio guide or as part of guided tours. However I would recommend going by yourself, since you will never be able to experience the eerie silence inside these giant structures when there are 20 other people around you.

Kryt 10-Z – Anti-aircraft / atomic bomb shelter below Brno Castle

The 10-Z Bunker is a former nuclear shelter, which was dug into the rock of the mountain under Špilberk Castle during WWII. It was finished in 1959 for the purpose of protecting up to 500 people in 65 room on an area of 1,500 m² in case of a nuclear attack. It had the facilities to operate independently with it’s own water tank, air filter room, diesel unit and even telephone exchange. It also had a kitchen, which still serves food, coffee and beer today (on certain occasions).

Inside the bunker you can visit some of the original rooms, try on clothes from back then to take pictures and explore the maze of tunnels by yourself.

The bunker was opened to the public in 2016 as an interactive museum and a reminder of the not-so-distant past of constant unrest in Europe.

Brno Underground – Experience & Expectations

I didn’t really know what to expect when I visited the locations of the Brno underground (mainly because I didn’t know they existed before I got to Brno). The first place I visited out of these location was the Labyrinth under the Vegetable Market, since it is the easiest to reach, being located literally in the middle of the city. The reception staff explained the optional audioguide and the different ticket options well and the tour was small (8 people) and enjoyable, with a humorous and knowledgable guide.

Second location were the water tanks, which took my breath away. There is something about seeing structures like these up close. A feat of engineering and human ingenuity at the time of their construction, which changed the life of people all around them.

The following day I visited the nuclear shelter and it’s history is so close to out current date that it serves as a grim reminder of war and unrest in Europe and a warning that we are never really far from it.

All in all I recommend all three to visitors of Brno and if you have the opportunity you should visit the other places of the Brno underground, too.

Brno Underground – Where to get the tickets?

You can buy tickets in advance on the official website of the Brno Underrgound! Or on premise for most of the attractions. There are combination tickets available where buying several admission tickets is less expensive than one ticket at a time.

Some places, like the Denis Atomic Bomb Shelter under Petrov Hill are only open on Saturdays and only with a tour.

Wondering what else there is to see in Brno? Look no further! Here’s my post about 4 Days in Brno

Der Beitrag Brno Underground – Experience & Expectations erschien zuerst auf Kaya Wanderlust.

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Overview of a 1 day stopover in Prague

• How to get to Prague
• Where to stay in Prague for most convenience during a stopover
• What to do in Prague (food, sights and museums)
• Map for a 1 day stopover in Prague
• My honest opinion about Prague

How to get to Prague?

From the neighbouring countries it’s easy and convenient to reach Prague by train – just make sure your train goes to Prague main train station and not Praha-Smíchov, since that one is on the other side of the river. And book with a Czech company, since especially the Deutsche Bahn (German rail) is not reliable.

From further away countries you can fly in, since Prague has an international airport as well. From the airport into the city it will take you about 35 minutes by car (taxi, uber, etc.) or public transport.

Where to stay in Prague when you’re only stopping over

My recommendation is the Libero Apartments* Hotel. It is close to the main train station, so you can easily walk to it on arrival day and the day you leave, no extra public transport ticket needed.

They have different rooms with en-suite bathrooms, some even feature a small kitchen and they are located in a safe neighbourhood. They were clean and comfortable.

What to do for a stopover in Prague

On the way from the trainstation you can stop at Areparna for dinner after a long travel day. They serve Venezuelan food, it’s hearty, (sometimes) fatty and delicious. Then you can check in to your room almost next door. Of course you could also check in first, but once I get to where I will sleep for the night after a long day, I am not leaving again until the next morning.

In the next morning I had breakfast at Cafefin, which is in walking distance from the apartment. It is a modern Vietnamese Cafe with delicious breakfast options and a very stylish interior. I went for a French toast and salt coffee (longer time readers can probably tell that I am missing Vietnam) and was not disappointed. It was more on the expensive side compared to other places I went to for food, but within a reasonable travel budget.

There is also an ATM of the Raifeisen Bank nearby to get cash if needed.

After breakfast I got a 30 minute public transport ticket for 1,20€ (you can check prices on the pid website) to get to the old town square and Astronomical Clock. The public transport system in Prague is extensive, from metros to trams to buses and even a funicular (more on that later).

On the way from the old town – because the crowds were driving me nuts – I stopped to see the Charles bridge, then took a tram across the river and to Újezd station, right outside Petřín park with Petřín hill. If you are more lucky then me the Petřín funicular uphill we be in operation! If that is the case you will need to buy an extra ticket if you want to ride it – OR you buy a 24 hour public transport ticket at the start of the day, because just three single journey tickets and the funicular ticket are more expensive than the 24 hour one.

In the south west corner of the park you can find the Czech Ethnographic Museum of the National Museum. It’s a lovely museum in an old park residence where I was the only visitor. You can see traditional costumes, learn about wedding traditions and the influence of farming and the church on the country and its people. You may have heard about a ship in a bottle, but have you ever heard of Jesus in a bottle? No? Me neither, but you can see it in this museum XD

On the way back I stopped at the tram station in front of the dancing house (two galleries above). Interesting to see, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it. For lunch I stopped at the apartment first to get new water, then had Japanese Matcha Pancakes and a Sakura Latte at Funwari Japanese Pancakes (last gallery). Originally the plan was to go to U Houdků, a restaurant serving traditional Czech dishes, but the portion sizes were too big for me by myself – pork knuckle starts at 1kg per serving.

From there I walked to the last museum on my list, the Military History Institute in Prague: The Army Museum Žižkov. Admission is free and the museum is one of the best ones I’ve been in, in the Czech Republic, going by comprehensiveness and exhibition design. That is not surprising, since it was only reopened in 2022, after undergoing several years of restoration and redesign. Despite this I was still almost alone in the museum. After an hour a tour group joined, then went past me and other than that I saw maybe five people inside (that weren’t employees).

Last stop of the day was the Bonvivant CTC’s bar, which, again, is in walking distance from the apartment. And it is safe to walk, since it is a safe neighbourhood. They have a signature menu with drinks currently inspired by Italy. Instead I went for a drink recommended by one of the bars regular customers who was sitting next to me. Something with orange, whiskey and black pepper.

For breakfast the next morning I went to golden egg, which is about half way between the apartment and the train station. Like the name suggests their focus is on egg dishes. My choice was the classic – a brioche bun with a fried egg, cheddar, crispy bacon and ketchup (with the ketchup substituted for siracha mayo) and a homemade ginger lemonade.

Map for a 1 day stopover in Prague

How to read the map: the red dot is the main train station, yellow dots are places to eat, orange is a bar, dark blue are museums, light blue are historic places and sights and purple is the place I mentioned where you should stay for maximum convenience.

You can save the map to your Google Maps for your stopover in Prague by clicking here.

My honest opinion about Prague

Prague is a beautiful city, there is no doubt about it. But it is also overrun. I have never felt that a city is as overrun as I did in Prague. Was I part of the problem? For two days, yes, certainly, in some places.

There are other cities in the east of Europe than Prague, there are other worthwhile cities to visit in the Czech Republic than Prague. I haven’t seen nearly as much as I wanted in two days, one because it was unbearably full and secondly because almost every place to visit was so expensive. If you pay 37€ to visit Prague Castle (all exhibitions and the entirety of the hill, including the gardens, the basilica and the citadel) and you can’t even see anything, because it is packed to the brim with bored out of their minds pupils on class trips and travel groups where half of the people are on their phone instead, it’s just not worth it.

And honestly, most people seemed to be there only for the pictures. Running from one sight to another and filming videos in front of them. Is nothing else the point of travel? Only showing it off online and at home? You could tell the locals are fed up, too. The amount of people who were so surprised and then being so nice to me when I was genuinely interested and polite… incredible. And incredibly sad.

Der Beitrag 1 day stopover in Prague erschien zuerst auf Kaya Wanderlust.