Hnánice - The former centre of wine trading

The book of national history and geography of Moravia from 1904 says the following about the history of this settlement: “The name of the locality is of Slavic origin. The root of the name contains the verb to drive (‘hnát’ in Czech – translator’s comment) suggesting that this was a place where the enemy was driven out of the land over the regional boundary. According to the historian Troschl from Louka, the settlement was founded in 1201. His records show that in this year Rudgerus, Miles de Gnanlicz, donated the tithes from all his vineyards in Hnánice to the monastery in Louka, which then bore the name of Gnadlersdorf.”   

Hnánice lies on what was a frequented trade road and was a busy agricultural centre for centuries. This lively, though small trading town suffered a severe blow when local Germans were displaced after the war: the population of the town was reduced to a paltry 250 people. The area of the settlement is located on a plot where many vineyards were already in existence during the Middle Ages. The heart of this viticultural territory has always been a belt lying close along the boundary with Austria, from Hnánice to the village of Jaroslavice. Nowadays, many small vintners work the local vineyards (ca 100 hectares). Only 15 of them are registered. The vine fields Knížecí Vrch (experts say the most productive field in the locality), Fládnická, U Kapličky, Pod Skálou, Za Sklepy, U Chlupa and U Bunkru are mostly planted with traditional vines of this sub-region like White Riesling, Welshriesling, Grüner Veltliner and Müller-Thurgau. As for red wines, the most popular is Saint Laurent. In recent years, Cabernet Moravia has also been meeting with a good response. 

The settlement is dominated by the Gothic church of Saint Wolfgang from 1487, which became dilapidated during the Thirty Years’ War and was later reconstructed in the baroque style. There is a spring near this church and local legend has it that it cures blindness. Other monuments include a plague column, an ancient granary and the Holy Stone, which is considered to be a pagan place of sacrifice. As for natural beauties, it is worthwhile to visit the protected area of Devět Mlýnů (Nine Mills) alongside the River Dyje. Although the mills were destroyed during the years of the Cold War, when the boundary was closely watched, you can still use the road passing by to get to the vineyard of Šobes.

Infringing upon the royal protocol

Near Hnánice, the legendary vineyard of Šobes is located. It is renowned for its location on a spit of the River Dyje. The hill, a place with unique thermophile flora and fauna, was already settled some 30 thousand years ago. The acid soil on a gneiss subbase takes in sunshine and creates conditions similar to the best-known French or Rhineland vineyards. The local White Riesling has been included in the thousand best wines of the world. The varieties Pinot Gris and Pálava from the vineyard also achieve exceptional quality. The Austro-Hungarian emperors liked wines from Šobes, and noble guests appreciate their qualities even nowadays. The wine from Šobes is even to blame for infringement of the royal protocol. When Queen Elisabeth II visited the Czech Republic in 1996, she found the golden drink so tasty that she had her glass filled for the second time from the same bottle. And that is against the customs of dining at the royal table. It was Pinot Gris, year 1993 that was honoured in this way. The painter and connoisseur of wine Milan Magni describes his wine tasting experience at the local stand of the company Znovín: An impressive nose of blooming lindens, jasmine and acacia, a discrete aroma of dried apricots and overripe yellow fruits, at the end a slight touch of petroleum. I blessed this piece of earthly paradise with a patriarchal hand and softly expressed the wish to come back here once again. Naturally in the company of a woman, that is the only way the wine from Šobes is to be savoured!”

One of the most original cellar lanes in the sub-region of Znojmo

The determination of time when viticulture became widespread in the settlement can be linked to the development of wine constructions. The register book of cellars and pressing houses from the 16th century preserves records on this type of building in Hnánice and surrounding villages. The entry from 1820 documents the existence of more than a hundred wine cellars and this number is still valid today. The cellars were built on the edge of current or defunct vineyards and gradually made up a continuous complex on the both sides of the road in the southwest part of the settlement. The lane also takes in Osada Havranů (Rooks’ Settlement), where you can combine viticulture tourism with horseback riding. The greater part of the cellars here were dug under the level of the terrain, with walls of brick or stone. In Hnánice, as throughout the region and the nearby territory of Mikulov, wine cellars create a system of corridors perpendicular to one another. The wine constructions in the settlement are unique examples of the preservation of the old ways and technologies of housing development as used in former centuries. Earth and stone are predominant construction materials. The preserved, even if considerably eroded, external walls of above-ground pressing houses demonstrate the technique of loaded and compacted earthen masonry reinforced by layers of small pebbles. The pressing house carries a ceiling constructed of massive beams and it is accessible via a few steps. Fresh air entered the pressing house through small windows decorated by painted or stone jambs. Handmade forged simple lattices in windows catch your attention by the quality of the product itself and by the artistic feel of the local smith. A massive pressing house with a granary is linked to the cellar itself by a steep narrow corridor or by a staircase. The cellar is traditionally dug out of sandstone soil, very often with a vault of stone or bricks. The cellar makes up a complicated system of winding corridors with manifold turn-offs and niches, which were constructed for big barrels with wine.

Another element worthy of notice is the mighty, aesthetically impressive door to the cellars – a perfect piece of craftsmanship. It is, as a rule, sumptuously divided by boards laid vertically, horizontally, diagonally or in a herringbone pattern, fixed by handmade doornails. The boards often create the cross of St Andrew. They are painted green or brown. The state of the cellars that have been long neglected is gradually starting to improve. The seamy side of renovation and revitalization of cellar constructions is the suppression of characteristic constructional features and deviation from original technologies. The cellar lane in Hnánice was proposed as a state-protected monument zone.      

The fair on the day of Saint Wolfgang (beginning of September)