South Moravia

Brno: a City with a Dragon and a Functionalist Jewel

Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, is at the centre of events in South Moravia, watched over by the Dragon of Brno. If you don’t believe it, you can see it with your own eyes: you will find it stuffed near the ceiling of the Old City Hall passage. The Brno skyline is dominated by the castle and fortress of Špilberk, built in the 13^th century. Vila Tugendhat, a functionalist home built in 1929–1930, is also worth visiting: it is registered in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

The Garden of Europe

The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape is another site registered in the UNESCO List. It is the largest artificial landscape in the world and so it is not surprising that it is called the Garden of Europe. There are two spectacular chateaus of Lednice and Valtice, but you will also enjoy the large parks, a system of lakes and historical buildings in the countryside (hunter’s lodges, temples, and chapels). Only a few kilometres south of Brno, there is Mikulov. There is a monumental chateau soaring over the town, where Napoleon once stayed. In addition to many interesting expositions, the Wine across Centuries exhibition is interesting for tourists, taking them back to the era of Ancient Egypt.

Wine, Abyss and Fairytale Underground Passages

Wine naturally belongs to South Moravia. You should definitely visit the local wine cellars and taste some Moravian wine. Some of the “must-see” stops are the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic, which is a public degustation exposition of hundreds of the best wines in the historical cellars of the Valtice Chateau, the area of historical Plže wine cellars in Petrov or the Šobes Vineyards in the Podyjí National Park.  The Moravian Karst with more than a thousand caves and the famous Macocha abyss is also worth seeing. When travelling with children, take them to the fairytale underground passages in Znojmo or the zoological gardens in Brno, Hodonín and Vyškov.