Exploring the Grand Renaissance Lednice Castle in the Czech Republic

24/02/2023

The stunning view of Lednice Castle in the Czech Republic, with it's stonewash walls and immaculate green gardens.

With grand staircases, a huge greenhouse and even unicorn horns, Lednice Castle is definitely one of the most beautiful palaces in the Czech Republic. Here’s what I saw and discovered during my recent visit.

During one of our sunniest days in Brno, I joined a group of creators on a trip to Lednice, where we participated in some wine tasting and then went on to tour the wonderful Lednice Chateau. Scroll on for plenty of Lednice Castle photos!

A brown paper bag with the Annovino Lednice Winery printed on front. The wine bag has a bottle of wine inside, and in the background there is a barrel with pumpkins sat on top.

We started our day at Annovino Lednice Winery. The staff had decorated the grounds wonderfully for Halloween with sweet pumpkins and autumn displays outside. Once inside, we took part in a short tour that gave us an overview of the process of winemaking. Though the tour itself was short, it was nice seeing things behind the scenes and touring the factory.

A wide view of Lednice Castle, with tall walls either side and a small garden area in the forefront

Next, we headed over to the extraordinarily grand and beautiful Lednice Castle. Also known as Castle Lednice, Lednice Palace and Lednice Chateau, this palace is actually built on a Renaissance chateau & Gothic fort and boasts stunning formal gardens.

We took the Representative rooms tour of the palace, led by the most wonderful tour guide named Wendy. She was without a doubt the best tour guide I’ve ever met, with a great presenting style sprinkled with fun facts and humour. If you are ever in the area and plan to visit Lednice Castle, definitely ask for Wendy as a guide.

A close up of animal horns, proudly displayed on a wall within Lednice Castle

Various hunting trophies are displayed on the tall and bright walls of a corridor in Lednice Castle

One of the grand rooms in Lednice Castle, two plants sit on the floor in front of tall curved windows.

She took us through the palace rooms – each more and more magnificent than the last – all whilst sharing the history of the chateau interior. We learned that the palace is actually home to about 400 rooms and 28 bathrooms – all of which are still fully working. The chateau also boasts up to 100 secret doors, which I found fascinating. No wonder it’s the second most visited attraction in the Czech Republic.

The palace is home to 18 beautiful brass chandleries – with the one below being the biggest in the Czech Republic.

A stunning brass chandelier hangs from the entrance hall at Lednice Castle. It is the biggest chandelier in Czech Republic.

A tall cabinet is open with a deep red back, showing old artefacts and plates on display. It sits in the corner of a room at Lednice Castle.

A small table sits in the forefront of the photo, with red flowers in a vase. Either side of the table are two bright blue vintage chairs. Behind this, there is a stone statue of a lady in the background of another room, with a painting hanging on the wall.

It must be so fun to live and work there, which people still do. I loved touring the different rooms and seeing the Lednice castle interior. It was great hearing all the fun facts about the place. For example, in one hallway there’s a very old mirror and legend has it that if a woman looks into it, she will soon fall pregnant or get married!

There were also so many pretty and intriguing corners that caught my eye as we walked around. I think it’s definitely one of the best castles in the Czech Republic, even though it’s more traditional to a manor house than an actual castle.

An old and dirty mirror hanging on the wall, with a black floral patterned frame.

The right end of a long table which is set up to represent how it looked when used for dining. In the centre is a large bouquet of flowers. Above it and to the right is part of a painting hanging on the wall.

It was tough to narrow down which room was my favourite but I absolutely adored the grand staircase, which is very popular. Apparently, couples marry at the castle and love to feature the staircase in their photos. And there is even another secret door at the top of it. I was very sad we couldn’t go up and see, haha.

The tall, spiral staircase at Lednice Castle. The woodwork has intricate floral patterns carved into it.

The blue room at Lednice Castle. The image shows a large stone fireplace on the left wall, with bold and blue vintage wallpaper on the walls. In front of the fireplace is a shiny dining table, with large flowers set in the centre. Chairs with material matching the patterns on the wall surround the table.

At the end of our tour, headed to one final grand room – the Blue Dancing Hall. Here a local musician performed some classical dance music from the 16th century. This was a really lovely touch and a great way to end our tour.

We only toured the ground floor on this occasion, but there’s a lot more to see within the palace’s walls. There are also princely apartments, prince and princess’s rooms and even a puppet museum.

Finally, we had the opportunity to visit the stunning palm house, which still functions as an ornamental greenhouse. There’s not much I can write about here – as we didn’t have a guide here – but it was nice to walk through and see. The architecture of the building was really stunning.

The exterior of Lednice Castle's palm house, with curved glass. Part of the castle's walls can be seen in the background.

A small statue of a man's head is surrounded by different green flowers.

Green plants and leaves reach out over a pale green door inside of the palm house at Lednice Castle.

Inside the palm house at Lednice Castle, various plants and greenery run alongside a pathway through the room.

A look through the condensation gathering on glass tiles. Outside is the blurry view of Lednice Castle's gardens.

A selection of green plants of different types grow over a simple patterned tile floor.

Afterwards, it was time for our journey home, but there was still so much we didn’t get to see! There’s also John’s Castle, a museum and, a short ten-minute drive away, Valtice Castle.

I really wanted to go to Valtice Castle because they had/have a great exhibition about the great mysteries of the world running. But there just was not enough time. Valtice Castle is just as beautiful though, so I think I will definitely return one day.

Overall, it was a really wonderful day. Lednice Castle is definitely one of the best castles/chateaus I’ve ever been to!

Everything you need to know about visiting Lednice Castle

This chateau is definitely a must-visit when in the Czech Republic. The castle is located in the small town of Lednice, in the South Moravian countryside. The area of Lednice is truly stunning and is home to UNESCO-listed gardens, wine-growing, riding schools and more.

Lednice Castle is easily accessible by car from Brno (just a 46-minute drive!), Vienna, Prague and Bratislava. You can also take public transport from Breclav.

There are various different tours you can take to explore the grounds. This includes the basic Representative rooms tour (which we took) to tours of the princely apartments, children’s rooms, and other buildings on the grounds.

The town of Lednice also boasts restaurants, hotels and shops, should you want to stay in the area. The area is popular for bike rides too, with a beautiful landscape full of routes for beginners and more experienced cyclists.

Lednice Castle
www.zamek-lednice.com
Zámek 1, 691 44 Lednice, Czechia
Tickets from 240 CZK/£8.91 for a basic tour.
There is soft food and drink available to purchase from a small cafe, and toilets on-site.

*Please note, this visit was gifted but included in the full-price ticket I paid to attend the Traverse 22 conference. I am under no obligation to write about the experiences I attended but have chosen to share honest reviews regardless.