Discovering South Moravia

Znojmo is not a place I had heard of before going there. The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide only deems it worthy of a few lines and doesn't go into any detail about what you will find when you get there. However, I am really glad that I made the trip. One of the 3 most important Moravian towns along with Brno and Olomouc, Znojmo has a wealth of baroque buildings, squares and churches along with what has to be one of the most breathtaking valley views I have seen in a long time.

We booked on to a day trip run by the Brno Expat Centre. The day didn't go according to plan, as 4 people dropped out of the tour at the last minute, meaning that the mini bus hire was no longer viable. Undeterred, 6 of us, lead by our Czech organiser and guide, decided to take the public bus. We just managed to get on board before it reached full capacity. We spent the scorching hot day enjoying the sights of the ancient town.

Before reaching the old town, there is a Parisian style roundabout with grandiose buildings dating from the mid-19th century.

Old Town Hall

Inside the underground labyrinth, dating from medieval times.
Fine if you are small like me, not so good if you are tall like him! It was interesting to go down,
but the tour was a little naff what with fake skeletons and goblins!

The intrepid day-trippers head through the back streets 

Inside the Gothic Cathedral of St Nicholas lies St. Boniface in all his finery

Incredible globe pulpit

Cathedral of St. Nicholas with neighbouring two-tier chapel

Dyje river

In the Footsteps of Napoleon

Yesterday, we went on a day trip arranged by the Brno Expat Centre to visit Austerlitz (know as Slavkov locally) and other places relating to the great battle of 1805. We set off on a beautiful sunny morning on a minibus from Brno and just half an hour later arrived at our first port of call: The Cairn of Peace Memorial. There is an exhibit there with items from the period and also a multi-media presentation in English to give an idea of what went on leading up to, during and after the battle. Sad to think that so many Austrian, French and Russian soldiers lost their lives here and now lie beneath the fields.

Memorial built 1910

Art Nouveau sculpture representing widows of the dead at the
entrance to the chapel inside the memorial.

Somewhat macabre - remains of soldiers found in the
 surrounding fields are brought to rest here.

We then travelled on to the Stará Pošta (Old Post Office) where Napoleon slept the night before the battle of Austerlitz and thought out his strategy. There is a small museum here and a nice restaurant serving traditional fayre.

Stará Pošta courtyard

Next stop was the Slavkov Chateau. This is a beautiful baroque castle with ornate stucco work and frescoes. The chateau does not open to the public until April, but they opened it especially for our tour. Sadly, no photos are allowed inside and we couldn't access the gardens due to works being carried out, but here are some shots of the exterior:

Main entrance to Slavkov-Austerlitz Chateau.

We then had an hour or so to wander around Slavkov. There isn't much to do there and everything closes on a Saturday after midday, but we had a pivo and sat in the sun before going on to our last stop of the day Žuráň Hill, which Napoleon made his field command post and where he watched the battle unfold.

Battle plan.

It was then time to head back to Brno for a well deserved drink. Ideally, I should have had a Napolean Brandy, but had to make do with a Martell. A nice end to a nice day.