Brno and its surroundings
The city of Brno – www.brno.cz
The largest historic metropolis of Moravia and the second largest city in the Czech Republic lies on two rivers – the Svratka and the Svitava. The city itself is an administrative centre of Southern Moravian Region, it plays a significant role in the region´s political, social, cultural and economical life. It is situated on a crossroads of ancient trade routes which have connected the North and South European civilisations for centuries. Today it is a very important trade fair city. The seats of the Constitutional Court, the Public Prosecutor and the Ombudsman are here.
The most interesting touristic sights include:
Minorite Monastery
with St Jan´s church, loreto chapel and Sacred stairs is the most valuable baroque sight in the city
Freedom square
earlier called Lower market or Big market. The dominant of the square is the Baroque Plaque Column and Renaissance Schwanz´s House.
Dominican Square
with the New Town Hall, Dominican Monastery and Masters´of Lipá House.
Old Town Hall
with the well-known Brno´s dragon and an observation tower from where you can see the historic part of the city center.
Cabbage Market square
statued with Parnas Fountain and Holy Trinity Column and surrounded by baroque palaces. Ditrichstein Palace is the residence of Moravian Provincial Museum.
Capucin Square
with the Capuchin Monastery. There are mummies on display in the well-known crypt.
Petrov
with the dominant Cathedral of St Peter and Paul.
Spilberk Castle
offers the opportunity to see a baroque fort with its casemates from 17th century which used to function as the toughest prison in the country until 1945. The castle´s tower is used as an observation tower nowadays.
vila Tugendhat
in Cernopolni Street 237. The very first monument of modern architecture (functionalism) in the Czech Republic, it belongs to UNESCO heritage. It was built for the Tugendhat family in 1929-1930. The designer was a world-known Mr L. Mies van der Rohe.
Phone Nr: 545 212 118. Seightseeing daily from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Moravian karst – www.blansko.cz
is easily acessible by car. A good starting point for walking is the parking lot nearby the Skalní Mlýn Hotel.
- Then walk 100 m to the Kateřinská cave.
- The most famous cave Punkva caves are easy to find by a small tourist train. Here you can try using boats in the cave water system if the weather allows it. The phone Nr for reservation: 516 413 575
- Abyss Macocha is connected to the Punkva caves by a cable car.
- The beautiful Sloupsko-sosuvske caves is very often neglected. My opinion is that this is "the most beautiful" cave of the region. You can reach it by walking but better by car if you drive near the Macocha cave.
Slavkov u Brna/Austerlitz – www.zamek-slavkov.cz,
Internationally known as Austerlitz especially because of:
- The Battle of the Three Emperors which took place near Austerlitz on 2 Dec 1805. The French army, led by Napoleon, won over the allied Russian-Austrian armies. This victory has been considered one of the biggest victories for the French emperor. Annually you can witness a big reenactment of the battle during the commemorative days.
- Slavkov icludes not only glorious battlefields but also a baroque castle and 16 ha English park with sculptures and statues from a famous Italian architect Giovanni Giuliani.
Wines of South Moravia
Cultivation of wine grapes has a long tradition in South Moravia, over a thousand years. The region is divided into 10 areas:
Znojmo area
around the city Znojmo near the Austria border. It is found in the area of gravelly and loessial grounds. The most relevant forms are forms of aromatic wines as Pálava or Sauvignon.
Velké Pavlovice area
The area surrounding Hustopeče and Velké Pavlovice is known for its red wines. Long warm autumn is suitable for lower acid content. The most often cultivated sorts are Frankovka, Vavřinec, Blue Rulanda and Blue Portugal.
Mikulov area
is divided into Mikulov and Valtice. This area is one of the warmest places in South Moravia. On the calcareous southern Palava hillsides grows Riesling Vlašský, White Rulanda and Chardonay. In the Valtice area you can find white wines and also blue wines such as Frankovka, Blue Rulanda and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Brno area
around Židlochovice is suitable for aromatic variants such as Moravian Muskatel, Tramin red and Irsay Olivér. Dolní Kounice area is suitable for Frankovka, St Vavrinec and Blue Portugal.
Kyjov area
on the slopes of Ždánice woods which protectss the grapes from the northern winds. Wines as Müller Thurgau from this „northern area“ have higher contents of acid.
Mutěnice area
is one of the smallest areas. Čejkovice are known for many templars who built great wine cellars. This area is suitable for both white and red wines. White forms of Rhineland Riesling, Neuburg and Tramin red are grown in Mutěnice.
Podluží area
(Dolní Bojanovice and Prušánky village) is a flat area with Rhineland Riesling, Vlašský Riesling and White and Grey Rulanda and blue wines Frankovka and Zweigeltrebe.
Bzenec area
with the Bzenec castle where the production of sparkling wines started in 1875. Bzenec area is known for the oldest Moravian stamp wine, Bzenecká Lipka.
Uherské Hradiště area
is a hilly terrain northern area. The most often grown cultivar is Müller Thurgau, Moravian Muskatel and Rhineland Riesling.
Strážnice area
is located near the Slovak border and its vineyards are situaded in the White Carpathian mountains. The heavy land are full of clay and are balanced also during dry summers. White wines such as White Rulanda, Green Sylvania, Rhineland Riesling and Müller Thurgau have a full taste and more acid. The famous wine is Blatnický roháč (cuvée of White Rulanda and Green Sylvania).
In case you are interested we can arrange for you wine cellar visit including wine degustation under the cellarman´s direction:
- Templar wine cellars – www.templarske-sklepy.cz
- We recommend Vinařství Springer for connoisseurs – www.springer.cz we recommend for gourmets
- Wine salon of the Czech Republic – www.salonvin.cz
Other useful links
- Castle Špilberk – www.spilberk.cz
- Brno reservoir and surroundings – www.prygl.net;
- Castle Veveří – www.veveri.cz
- Lednice-Valtice area – www.lva.cz and village Lednice – www.lednice.cz
- List of castles and chateus in the South Moravian region – www.domek.cz/toulavy.htm
- Tourist information about South Moravia region – www.jizni-morava.cz
