Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape

Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape

UNESCO World Heritage Site
from top: Lednice Castle, Valtice Castle, Rendezvous Pavilion, one of Lednice Ponds, John's Castle, Rajsna Colonnade, Venetian fountain in Lednice Castle garden, view on Lednice Castle park with Minaret
Location within Czech Republic
Location	Lednice and Valtice, Czech Republic
Criteria	Cultural: (i), (ii), (iv)
Reference	763
Inscription	1996 (20th Session)
Area	14,320 ha (35,400 acres)
Coordinates	48°46′33″N 16°46′30″E

The Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape (also Lednice–Valtice Area or Lednice–Valtice Complex, Czech: Lednicko-valtický areál) is a cultural-natural landscape complex of 283.09 square kilometres (109.30 sq mi) in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It comprises the municipalities of Lednice, Valtice and Hlohovec, and the rural area of Břeclav.

In 1996, the Lednice-Valtice Area was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its unique mix of Baroque, Neoclassical, and neo-Gothic architecture, and its history as a cultural landscape designed intentionally by a single family. It is part of the Lower Morava Biosphere Reserve, a biosphere reserve which parts were registered by UNESCO several years before. Valtice Castle was expanded in late Romanesque style in the first half of the 13th century, but was badly damaged in the Hussite Wars and later rebuilt by Charles I, Prince of Liechtenstein, in the Baroque style. From the 14th century, Lednice (German name: Eisgrub) was a fortified manor belonging to the Valtice estate and from 1680 it was expanded into a palace that was redesigned in a Tudor Gothic Revival style (then: "Old English style") between 1846 and 1858 by Prince Aloys II.