Czech Wine Country – A Trip to Southern Moravia

Mikulov and the Mikulov Chateau

As summer wound down, I took advantage of the remaining nice weather to take a few road trips in the Czech Republic.  The most recent was a trip to the town of Mikulov and surrounding areas in the wine-making region of Moravia. 

A Great Kingdom and a History of Winemaking

Moravia is one of the three regions making up the current Czech Republic (the other two are Bohemia, which is where Prague is located, and Silesia on the northwestern border with Poland).  At one time, Moravia was its own kingdom that eventually became a smaller land of the Bohemian (Czech) crown.  It gets its name from the Morava River, and the central part of the former great kingdom is now the region of the Czech Republic called Moravia. 

For centuries Moravia has been known for winemaking and its wine culture, and it is also where most of the Czech Republic’s Slivovitz (plum brandy) is made. And although it grows other crops and manufactures lots of other things, these days when you think of Moravia, you think of wine.

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View of vineyards from Mikulov with the Palava hills in the distance

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House of Liechtenstein, House of Dietrichstein

In the 13th century, the Czech King Ottakar II granted Mikulov (Nikolsburg in German), including a castle, and the surrounding areas to the Liechtenstein noble family of Austria. Over the following centuries, they inundated the town and the surrounding region with amazing structures. In the 16th century, Austrian Emperor Maximilian II granted the fiefdom of Mikulov to one of his ambassadors, who was from the Dietrichstein noble family.  It remained in their hands until the 20th century.

Mikulov’s Jewish Population

Jews lived in Mikulov from as early as the 15the century, arriving after they were expelled from Vienna by decree (Mikulov is only 53 miles from the Austrian capital).  Later that century, an Austrian Duke, Ladislaus, expelled Jews from all Moravian royal towns, and many of them settled in Mikulov, where they enjoyed protection from the Liechtenstein princes. As a result, Mikulov’s Jewish settlement “grew in importance and became the seat of the regional rabbi of Moravia,” according to Wikipedia. The famous Rabbi Loew (Judah Loew ben Bezalel, lived and worked in Mikulov for twenty years before moving to Prague. You can learn more about Rabbi Loew in my guide to Prague’s Jewish Quarter.
 
At one point, Jews made up 42% of Mikulov’s population. Sadly, none them survived after the Holocaust (or if there were any survivors, they did not return to Mikulov).  However, the main street of Mikulov’s Jewish settlement remains and is now filled with restaurants, hotels and wine bars. Most importantly, the High Synagogue is still standing, and it is one of the “Ten Stars” project that, according to the project’s website, has “enabled the reconstruction, restoration, and preservation of 15 important [Jewish] historical buildings in 10 towns in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia.” The project is funded by the EU and the Czech government.

Interior of the restored synagogue in Mikulov

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Wine Tasting and Sightseeing

Mikulov is a quaint, attractive town that, thanks to the end of communism and the subsequent blossoming of tourism, has become a lovely destination with boutique hotels, good restaurants, great coffee, and – of course – wine, LOTS of wine. But it also has no shortage of sites to see, as do the nearby areas. These include the Mikulov Castle, the High Synagogue and large Jewish cemetery, the St. Sebastian Chapel on the Svatý Kopeček (Holy) Hill, and the Dietrichstein sepulcher. In addition to sites, you can do wine tasting tours of local vineyards.

In the same region are the Valtice and Lednice (yes, it means “refrigerator” in Czech!) Chateaus. Both were built by the Liechtenstein family, the wealthiest family in Moravia at one point. Of the two, Lednice is the crown jewel of the Liechtenstein’s property in the region, and you have to see it and its gardens to believe its size and beauty. In addition to traditional castles, the Liechtensteins also built curious structures like the Reistna Collonade pictured below, which are dotted throughout the forests that the family owned.

So the next time you’re in Prague, put the Mikulov region on your list of places to visit. It’s probably too far from Prague for a day trip, and besides, you might want to visit one of the famous wine cellars in the evening.  But you can certainly do a day trip from Vienna if you wish. In my view, however, the town has enough to see to warrant a couple of days.

Contact me for more information, and be sure to check out my Prague guidebooks below! All are available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle versions.

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