"Valtice" a Valtice Travel Page by Amazonka

The city of Valtice, located near Austrian border, is famous For its beautiful castle and highly developed viniculture. The castle of Valtice used to be an ostentatious domicile of Austrian as well as Moravian house of Lechtenstein. It was renowend not only for its beauty, but also for arts. Let?s name, for example, the castle theater, whose significance ot the time competed with the theatre stage of Vienna.

The Area of Chateaus Lednice and Valtice is one of the most precious pearls in historical and cultural treasure of the Czech Republic. Sience 1992 it has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage.

The castle of Valtice, one of the largest secular baroque buildings in Moravia, was built in the period of 1643 dtto 1730. The castle also includes an extensive park and a number of romantic buildings dating back to the first half of the 19th century, such as the colonnade called Reistna, the manor house of Belveder and the temple of Diana (also known as Randezvous).

Valtice and wine. These two terms have been Inseparable for hundreds of years. The prestigious wine exhibit called Wine Market of Valtice attracts visitors from the whole country. The cellars of Valtice castle host the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic, while other rooms include the National Center for Viniculture and also Morav?n Union, the largest union of Czech and Moravian wine makers. The Secondary School of Viniculture and Viniculture Academy of Valtice these two instiutions prepare dozens and hundreds students and sommeliers each year for the wine business. Is there any other place closer to wine than Valtice?

The Valtice Castle was built not far away from a medieval castle, already mentioned at the end of 12th century. The castle belonged to the Seefeld family. When the demesne had later been acquired by the Lichtensteins, they built here a renaissance castle. The contemporary baroque building was commenced, at the end of 17th century by Charles Eusebius of Lichtensten, educated of this mighty aristocratic family, who had traveled a lot. Valtice became the main family seat, built up in involvement of the leading architects (F. Carrati, G. G. Tencallo, A. and K. Erno, D. Martinelli, A. J. Ospel). The final look was given to the castle by the Austrian architect J. B. Fischer of Erlach. Thus, one of the most noteworthy baroque entities in Moravia came to being.

In the first half of the 19th century, under the rule of John I of Lichtenstein, the extensive and unique landscaping of the wide Valtice neighborhood was carried out. A set of park works was set up in the area between Valtice and Lednice, where the Lichtensteins had their summer seat. The noteworthy family had owned the demesne until 1945, when the state expropriated it. In 1950, the castle was made accessible to the public, the reconstruction was commenced in the sixties. The current installation comes from these years.

EXTERIOR
The double-story baroque castle has a closed central and four-wing layout, encompassing four courtyards. It is situated diagonally, with its entrance portal aiming northeastward. On the north side, underneath the castle, the ground floor and single-story buildings of the stable and riding school were newly built. The Spanish Stable with its state separated grotesque statues as well as the Winter Riding School survived. Both are now used to accommodate various social events, encompassing the courtyard of honor.

The castle can be entered through the amply decorated central portal with rectangular profiled tower reaching to the sky above it. The Valtice Castle forms one of the poles (southern one) of the unparalleled Lednice/Valtice (Lichtenstein) area.

Using the plans prepared by the Building Manager Joseph Hardmuth, the architect Joseph Kornh?usel built an Empire work called the Temple of Diana (more than frequently also referred to as Rendezvous) in 1810 ? 1812. Simulating the Triumphal Arch in Rome, the monument in the midst of the old forest giants, was used by John I and his guests as the place of the hunters' breakfasts during the numerous hunting event, used to be held in an extensive hall across the entire floor of the building. The relief and figural decoration was carried out by the sculptor Joseph Klieber. The Goddess of Hunting, Diana, to whom the work is consecrated, is depicted in the middle of the central relief of the portal on the throne seated on a column. She wears her attribute - a crescent Moon - on her head, as she also used to be identified with the Goddess of Moon. The hunting scenes (deer- and boar-hunting) are on the southern entrance side, the topics from the antique legends (bathing nymphs stared by Kupidos) on the northern side. The front fa?ade of the building is further decorated with four forward-seated massive columns with the Corinth capitals. The Latin inscriptions on the attic on both sides of the building give a cue of the hunting purposes:

Front side of the building: "To Diana hunter and to her venerators form John, the Prince of Lichtenstein in 1812."

Back side of the building: "This temple, your Lightness, sister of Phebus, is consecrated to you, let the groove ever grow without any damage for your honor!".