Znojmo, made a Royal Town in 1226, is one of the most important towns in Moravia. Its Romanesque rotunda of St. Catherine, dating from the 11^th century and boasting interior wall paintings depicting the Přemyslid family, is a national cultural monument. The town has well-preserved medieval fortifications with towers and a gate; an extensive system of underground passageways and cellars dates from the 15^th to 17^th centuries. The Gothic monastery of St. Nicholas dates from the 14^th century; the Renaissance town hall with a Gothic tower is from 1448. One significant monument is the Loucký monastery founded in 1190 by Konrád Ota Znojemský; its current baroque appearance dates from 1784. The monastery has always been a centre of both learning and winemaking in Znojmo. Underneath the monastery are extensive wine cellars and an outlet belonging to the Znovín Znojmo winery, which also offers a programme for introducing visitors to various aspects of the largest Moravian winegrowing region. The Znojmo region is especially favourable for white aromatic wines. Besides the region’s main wine variety, Grüner Veltliner, other grapes blessed by local conditions with a distinctive taste and aroma are Müller Thurgau, Sauvignon and Rhine Riesling. An interesting aspect of the region is that there are few small winegrowers; most vineyards are owned by large winemaking companies.

A town with a rich winemaking tradition. The cellars, fields and vineyards on the southern edge of town form an 800-metre long square of wine cellars dominated by a wooden press from the 18^th century. The small lane called “Modré sklepy” (Blue Cellars), with its 181 cellars and wine presses, is a protected heritage monument. The cellars are dug into the local sandstone and their interior décor is composed of layers of blue-grey clay, whose colour presumably gave this place its name. The cellar “U Nápravů” contains the local vinotéka, where you can taste the best wines produced by the local vintners. Another cultural monument is the late-Gothic column built in Sedlešovice at the beginning of the 16^th century as a memorial to widespread flooding.   

Ancient winemaking town founded around the provost house of the Knights of the Cross. The Gothic church of St. Sigismund dates from the second half of the 13^th century, the knights’ parish is from the early 18^th century. The town is the birthplace of the writer Charles Sealsfield; a memorial plaque may be found on his family home no. 40. Many of the town’s lanes are lined with wine cellars.

More than one hundred hectares of grassland containing rare warmth-loving flora and fauna usually found in steppe environments. The heath’s main feature is grasses such as common heather and hairy greenweed. Local animals include praying mantis and the European hoopoe. The area is a one-of-a-kind landscape, a type of heath growing in a warm and dry locale not seen anywhere else in Europe.

The originally Gothic church of St. Martin today has a baroque look from 1656. Although the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre behind the church dates from the 19^th century, it contains remnants of a Gothic ossuary. The town contains several original village buildings. Above town towards the Austrian border is a saddle-shaped hill with excellent conditions for viticulture called Peklo.

Unique in Europe, the walls of this wine cellar dug into the sandstone have been decorated with colourful reliefs, the work of Šatov native Maximilian Appeltauer. Tastings include a tour of the life work of this one-armed self-taught painter. (tel. 721 754 548)