Towns and Villages

 

Citonice

John and Paul Church, later Baroque, modified in the 19th century, preserved group of barns built of stone.

 

Čížov

First noted in 1323. Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Suffering, dating from 1756. Preserved original village houses, many of them used by cottagers. Here is the Visitors' Centre of the NP Administration. Near the village, along the border road, a part of the Iron Curtain has been preserved. Border crossing for hikers and cyclists.

 

Felling

First noted in 1290. Church of St. Peter and Paul, originally Gothic, modified Baroque. Sarcophagi altar with gilded sculptures of saints. The only one pearl-factory in Austria. The scallops of pearl shell from Dyje River used to manufactured in many factories, now a pearl is imported from oversea. Now you can find only rests of manufactured scallops in the river. You can make a date for visit of museum. 

 

Hardegg

The smallest town in Austria. A parish church of St. Vitus from the first half of the 13th century. In the underground space graves have been found in which several generations of the Lords of Hardegg were buried. Below the church stands a circular karner dating from 1160. Its lower space served as a charnel house, its upper part as a chapel. Hardegg lies at the confluence of the Thaya with its tributary, the Fugnitz stream. The small town is dominated by a castle built in the 12th and 13th centuries. At present the castle contains remembrances to Maximilian of Habsburg,  Emperor of Mexico, murdered in 1867.  A part of the exhibition is supplemented by collections of ancient Maya, Inca and Aztec art. Staring point of tourist trails. Border crossing for hikers and cyclists.

 

Havraníky 

First mentioned in 1229. In the surroundings finds of graveyards, ceramics and Neolithic stone tools. Church of St. Linhart, built on older foundations in the first half of the 19th century. Preserved samples of original village build-up.

 

Hnanice 

The first note on the village dates from 1210. The village lies on the ancient salt route. Romanesque-Gothic church of St. Wolfgang was a famous pilgrimage church. Original village build-up. There is a station of Czech police and a border crossing used primarily by motorists and cyclists.

 

Horní Břečkov

The first note on the village dates from 1323. Church of St. Clement, original Renaissance, from the second half of the 16th century. In the village several original farmsteads have been preserved.

 

Hradiště

Originally a Great Moravian elevated walled town built on a rocky outcrop above the confůuence of the Dyje and the Gránický potok Brook, one of the most significant centres of the Great Moravian Empire. At the beginning of the 13th century the Church of St. Hypolite was built, with Baroque wall frescoes by A. Maulpertsch. At the church there is to this day a functional monastery of Knights of the Red Star. On its southern edge there is a number of outlooks into the Dyje valley, the reservoir and the historical part of Znojmo. The most impressive view is offered by the rocky outcrop with the chapel of St. Elijah.

 

Konice

First noted in 1577. Evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement. The parish church from the beginning of the 19th century is consectrated to St. James the Elder. In the village are extensive, historically valuable wine cellars.

 

Lesná

Founded in 1794. Church of St. Theresa from 1868. Partly preserved original village buildings, a windmill (serving as a restaurant) and a museum of veteran cars.

 

Lukov

First noted in 1190. Prior to 1560 it was raised to a town. Late Baroque Church of St. Giles, at which stands a pillory dating from 1609. Examples of original village buildings.

 

Mašovice

In the vicinity discoveries of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements. First noted in 1046. Gothic Church of St. John the Baptist and a wayside shrine built after 1630.

 

Merkersdorf

A pictoresque village at the edge of the Thayatal National Park. Starting point for marked hiker trails into the park. Regular rural markets held in summer.

 

Niederfladnitz

A village lying south of the NP Thayatal. Inside the local castle there is an important farmstead dating from the 17 th century.

 

Nový Šaldorf

A wine-growing village at the eastern edge of the NP Podyjí. Numerous little wine cellars.

 

Onšov

First note about the village dating from 1323.

 

Podmolí 

In the vicinity of the village discoveries from the Bronze and Slavic Ages. First noted in 1266. In the village a Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Suffering, dating from 1753. Preserved original village buildings. Staring point for trips to Nový Hrádek.

 

Podmyče

This village on the western edge of the national park was first mentioned in historical records from 1323AD.

 

Popice

Prehistoric Neolithic settlement. First noted in 1252. In the village stands a Church of St. Sigismund from the 2nd half of the 13th century, rebuilt in the 17th century, and a parish of the Knights of the Red Star, dating from the 1st half of the 18th century. Next to the parsonage is the house in which the writer Charles Sealsfield was born. Near  the village, in a heath, stands a statue of St. Florian. Popice is a starting point for trips to the eastern part of the national park.

 

Retz

 

This Austrian town is famous for its wine-making and the town centre is an urban historical preserve, surrounded by part of the old town walls with several towers. On the square there are the Rennaisance Town Hall and many houses from the 16th to 18th centuries. The Dominican Church from 1295AD was one of the first three-naved churches in Austria. The Gatterburg Chateau dates from 1660-1680. Visitors can learn about the history of the town in the Town Museum. The last functional windmill in Austria from 1772AD on a rise above the town and the nearby remnants of a Baroque stations of the cross and cemetery, with the graves of soldiers who died in the Retz area in the First, and especially the Second World Wars. The Lange Ziele street in the lower part of the town consists of a renovated complex of wine cellars and wine press houses. Modernized railway connection between Znojmo and Retz (from Autumn 2009). Mitterretzbach – with St. Margaret´s Church and Mrs Renate Slama´s interesting ceramics on sale. Oberretzbach – where the vineyards pass into the oakwoods of the Waldviertel. St. Katherine´s Church in the village and camping possible at Camp Hubert. Unterretzbach- with the Church of  St. Jacob the Elder. One of the wine cellars is used for cultural events and celebrations. Numerous wine cellars and wine presses.

 

Retzbach

A picturesque Austrian wine-growing village near the Czech border, which consists of 3 sections:

 

Riegersburg

A castle with two ponds in the castle park, built in the 16th century, rebuilt in the 18th century in the Baroque style according to the plans of  J. B. Fischer of Erlach. The original furnishings were destroyed in World War II, so that after the restoration the castle was furnished with other furniture, also dating from the 18th century. The castle is among the most beautiful ones in Austria.

 

Sedlešovice

A wine-growing village at the foot of Kraví  hora Hill. A plague column and a monument to soldiers who died in World War I.

 

Šafov

The Baroque St. Bartholomew´s Church dates from the first half of the 18th century. The original headstones have been preserved in the Jewish Cemetery. A network of 5 fishponds lie around the village and are interesting ornithological localities.

 

Šatov

A wine-growing village which was founded around 1200AD and raised to the status of a town in 1497. The Church of St. Martin is originally late Gothic. A large number of traditional village buildings have been preserved in this small town. Many functional wine presses and wine cellars can also be found here. The Znojmo – Retz – Vienna railway line passes through the village (open again after modernisation in autumn 2009).

 

Vranov nad Dyjí

An important, defensive border castle stood here on a 76-metre-high rock even before 1100AD. After a fire in 1665 the castle was rebuilt by J. B. Fischer of Erlach into a monumental, Baroque chateau, the architectonic centre of which is the Hall of the Ancestors, with valuable frescoes by J. M. Rottmayer. The Holy Trinity Chapel at the castle dates from the late 17th century. The castle interiors include an exhibition of Vranov stoneware and a valuable library. An extensive and gradually reconstructed forest park, with numerous vantage points and romantic structures surrounds the castle. The village below the castle was raised to the status of a small town in 1516. The parish church of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary dates from the 13th century, and the vicarage dates from around 1717.The Plague Column on the square dates from 1716 and was built by the owner of the Vranov estate – M.H.Althann to give thanks that Vranov survived the plague epidemic in 1680, even though the plague killed 83 of the villagers.

 

Znojmo

County town standing on the eastern border of the national park. This locality was already settled in the Stone Age. An appanage principality with the Znojemí Castle was founded here in 1055AD. Znojmo was raised to a royal town in 1226AD. The most important historical monuments include the Znojmo Castle, the Premonstratensian Monastery in Louka, which was founded by Konradem Otto in 1190AD (the Louka monastery owned large tracts of land and great riches, influencing the economic, cultural and political development of the region for many centuries), the St. Nicholas Deanery Church (built 1338-1450) with the St. Wenceslas Chapel (1512), the Jesuit Archangel Michael´s Church – originally Gothic but later rebuilt in a Baroque style, the Dominican Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross and Monastery on Dolní Česká street, as well as the cancelled  Minorite Monastery and the Convent of the St. Clare´s Sisters in Přemyslovců Street, where King Přemysl Otakar II´s body lay until 1296. This monastic building is now the seat of the South Moravian Museum in Znojmo. The whole of the town centre with the underground labyrinth, the Town Hall Tower from 1445-1448 and the Romanesque Rotunda of the Virgin Mary and St. Catherine - with rare frescoes depicting the Přemyslid ruling dynasty- are included in the Town Monument Zone with limited car traffic. Parts of the town walls have survived to the present day.  Znojmo is famous for its wine and pickled gherkins, which were brought here in the 16th century by the Abbot of the Louka Monastery Šebestián Freytag from Čepiroh as a cure for the plague. Bus and train connections towards the Czech and Austrian national parks.