The House of Liechtenstein acquired a castle in Lednice in 1249, which marked the beginning of their settlement in the area. It remained the principal Liechtenstein residence for 700 years, until 1939 and World War II.
17th—19th centuries
The Dukes of Liechtenstein transformed their properties into one large and designed private park between the 17th and 20th centuries. During the 19th century, the Dukes continued transforming the area as a large traditional English landscape park. The Baroque and Gothic Revival style architecture of their chateaux are married with smaller buildings and a landscape that was fashioned according to the English principles of landscape architecture.
In 1715 these two chateaux were connected by a landscape allée and road, later renamed for the poet Petr Bezruč. The Lednice Ponds are situated between the villages of Valtice, Lednice, and Hlohovec; as are the Mlýnský, Prostřední, Hlohovecký, and Nesyt Ponds. A substantial part of the cultural landscape complex is covered in pine forests, known as the "Pine−wood", and in areas adjacent to the River Dyje with riparian forests.
20th century
In the 20th century the region became part of new Czechoslovakia The Liechtenstein family opposed the annexation of Czech territory as a part of Sudetenland by Nazi Germany, and as a consequence their properties were confiscated by the Nazis, and the family then relocated to Vaduz in 1939. After World War II the family made several legal attempts for restitution of the properties. However, they had passed post-war into ownership by the new communist Czechoslovakia. Of course its Communist government did not support returning large estates to exiled aristocratic landowners. After the Czechoslovakian Velvet Revolution in 1989, the Liechtenstein descendants again renewed legal attempts for restitution, which were denied by the Czech state, the present day owner of the properties.
Features
The principal elements are:
Chateau Valtice and its contiguous town/village of Valtice.
Chateau Lednice Castle and its contiguous village of Lednice.
In addition to the castles, there are many large to small residential pavilions located throughout the designed landscape, often serving as chateau or hunting lodges.
The Colonnade − Rajsna
— a Neoclassicalcolonnade on the top of a hill ridge above Valtice from the 1810s to 1820s
— a Moorish Revival style "minaret" observation tower high, located in the Lednice Castle garden, that provides a view of the entire landscape. On clear days the Pálava Hills and Malé Karpaty Mountains can also be seen from the towers.
— an Empire-style hunting lodge from the beginning of the 19th century
Preservation
The garden follies and the conservatory of Lednice Park were listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund, for their deteriorating condition resulting from insufficient financial resources. The Fund had previously studied the preservation of Lednice and Valtice Castles, and after 1998 it helped fund restoration of the Valtice Rendezvous folly as a demonstration project with support from American Express.
