Veveří Castle is a wonderful castle situated in the centre of Brno Reservoir in the Czech Republic. One of the best ways to get there is by a Brno boat trip. Here’s what I thought when I visited!
Back in September, my week in Brno with Traverse events included an excursion to Brno’s wonderful Veveří Castle. This was a definite highlight of my week.
The experience began with a boat trip around Brno Reservoir. Despite the fact that I arrived at the dock during a huge torrential downpour of rain! We clambered onto the boat, where we were all handed a light lunch, water and a necessary poncho. I usually take a travel umbrella with me whenever I travel, but stupidly I forgot to pack one this time!
The boat ride offered some nice views of the reservoir. But it was not a guided tour, so many of our group used the journey to socialise, take photos and enjoy the scenery.
During the hour it took us to sail to the castle, the rain luckily eased up. It cleared just in time for our arrival.
Arriving at Veveří Castle
The castle looked beautiful, appearing above the trees in the distance. I hadn’t done any research before taking our trip as. In confusion, I thought it would be the same castle we were visiting later in the week for our gala dinner. Therefore, when I saw it, I was blown away at how pretty it was!
Once the boat docked, we were given ample time to explore the castle grounds ourselves. This meant that, again, there was no guided tour, which allowed me to immerse myself in taking photos and enjoying the surroundings. I do wish we’d been able to go inside or learn more about Veveří Castle during our time there though.
We followed a path through the rain-soaked trees of Podkomorské woods. We headed across wooden bridges and along a small hill which led us up to the entrance of the Castle. As it had rained so much earlier, our walk to the castle felt very atmospheric and moody. But in a good way!
Being that much of the castle was abandoned and parts had fallen to ruin, the walk really gave way to what we then saw. It actually all looked like an abandoned gothic castle right out of an old fairytale!
Originally a ducal and royal castle, Veveří Castle was actually built gradually over nearly 800 years of history. It was originally a small hunting castle, but was later used as royal premises. It was even occupied by German barracks during World War II, which explains the damage to the area.
Read more: Vila Stiassni, Brno: my guided tour inside this pretty villa
Exploring Veveří Castle
Our group slowly explored the ruins, climbing up the small tower for beautiful views over the surrounding landscape. At the other side of the castle, we found a small cafe serving food and drink. I had a glass of warm sweet wine that’s traditional to the Czech Republic and fussed over a small cat that was wandering around.
As you can see from the photos, it was a really lovely and interesting place to visit. Unfortunately, we were unable to go inside. This was a shame and I’d have loved a tour or further information about the castle. We spent most of our time just exploring.
Afterwards, we hopped back on the boat to take us back to the centre of Brno. Thankfully the skies were a lot clearer on the way back and we enjoyed more wonderful views from the boat. We even saw a man swimming in the lake!
Despite the earlier rain, it was a really nice afternoon overall! I absolutely love visiting castles, so I was very happy to tick this one off my list.
Veveří Castle
www.hrad-veveri.cz
664 71 Veverská Bítýška-Brno-Bystrc, Czechia
Entry from 50 CZK/£1.88. Tours start from 180 CZK/£6.77.
There is soft food and drink available to purchase from two small cafe, and toilets on-site. There is also parking available – you don’t have to take a boat ride to visit!
*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.
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