Velké Bílovice is a town in the Czech Republic. It is a part of the Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region and is located about 45 km southeast of Brno and 80 km northeast of Vienna. It has a population of 3,907. It is the largest grapevine-growing town in the Czech Republic with more than 760 hectares of officially registered vineyards.
History
The first written record of Velké Bílovice comes from 1306 but the area was settled much earlier. Houses of Liechtenstein and Žerotín were the most important owners in the history of Velké Bílovice. In the 16th century, group of Hutterites settled in the area, cultivated grapevine and built many large wine cellars. At the beginning of the 20th century many citizens of Velké Bílovice migrated to Argentina, Canada and the United States. Velké Bílovice was officially promoted to town status in 2001.
Places of interest
Hutterite wine cellars - the biggest one was built around 1614 and is located near the pond Velký Bílovec in the direction of Čejkovice. Its current owner is the company Habánské sklepy. Town Museum - There you can find local folk costumes, many archaeological finds from the area, old farm tools and other interesting things associated with the history of the town. Hill Hradištěk is a very visible local landmark. From the hill you can see not only the town but also many other nearby towns and villages and very many vineyards. Under good weather conditions you can also see monumental Pálava upland, wind farms in Austria and even distant White Carpathian mountains. On the hilltop there is a chapel which is consecrated to four saints: St. Urban, St. Wenceslas and St. Cyril and Methodius. Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built in late Baroque style in 1764–1765. Viticulture and winemaking - Velké Bílovice boasts more than 650 privately owned wine cellars located in 40 named cellar streets and more than 730 hectares of vineyards.
Culture and festivities
“Hody” is the most important folk festival in Velké Bílovice. It begins on the first Sunday after the Day of the Virgin Mary's Birth, patron saint of the local church, and continues till Tuesday. On the Saturday before the Feasts festive maypole is manually erected. The main celebration takes place on Sunday, when many visitors even from far away come to admire the folk costume parade, which is annually attended by more than 50 costumed couples. In 2017 the event takes place on September 10, 11 and 12. From wine cellar to wine cellar - During this event you can literally wander from one local wine cellar to another and taste plenty of different varieties of wines from many different winemakers. It is regularly held on Saturday at the turn of March and April. In 2017 the event takes place on April 1. Wine exhibition - Wine tasting of wines made not only by local winemakers, but also winemakers from near and far away. It is regularly held in the local Kulturní dům on Saturday at the turn of April and May. In 2017 the event takes place on May 6.
