Castellan of Lednice: The UNESCO inscription has helped us to start the renovations properly

photo: SZ Lednice

Lednice – The inscription of the Lednice-Valtice Area on the UNESCO World Heritage List was a significant event for the administration of Lednice Castle. It became a compelling reason for investments in the repairs of the entire expansive complex and attracted the attention of tourists from all around the world, said ČTK the castle's curator Ivana Holásková, who has been working at the castle for over 40 years.

She started at the castle in 1978 with her husband, who was the curator before her; she became the curator in 1993. "When we arrived at the castle, it was dilapidated inside and out. Essentially, only the representative halls were maintained, while the other wings were used by the agricultural college, which had dormitories, a dining hall, and storage rooms there. It was desolate. When these spaces were handed over to us in the early 1990s, they were in a deplorable state," described Holásková.

Talk of the inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List began at the end of 1994; until then, the castle administration was primarily focused on the interiors of the castle's ground floor. "When the UNESCO commissioners started arriving and workshops were held here, I was ashamed to the core. Fortunately, everyone understood what the past era was like and that the inscription on the list would help us reconstruct the monument," added the curator.

And that is what happened. As visitor numbers to the castle grew, it became clear that the castle deserved the investments. The facade on the northern side, which was in the worst condition, was successfully preserved, while the complete renovation of the facades began only in 2008. "In 1999, a general reconstruction of the palm greenhouse began; that was basically at the last minute, as there were bad load-bearing columns and the structure was rusted. In 2001, we evacuated the agricultural museum from the first floor and set up princely apartments in its space. Now, the facades, roofs, greenhouse, interiors, and everything possible has been made accessible to the public. From the original single small tour, there are now four tours. The minaret has also been renovated, and there is a new installation at Janohrad," the curator enumerated.

In addition to the interest from tourists from distant countries that the UNESCO inscription brought, Lednice Castle has also found a loyal patron. "At his own expense, he had the presbytery and the Stations of the Cross in the chapel reconstructed, donated many interesting items from his collection of antiques to the castle, and every year he sends us a truckload of tulip bulbs from the Netherlands," added Ivana Holásková.

However, the work on the castle's restoration is far from over. Currently, the castle administration is preparing to repair the catacombs under the greenhouse, the so-called Moorish House, and to restore statues and vases in the castle park.

Lednice Castle is the most visited monument in southern Moravia, with nearly 380,000 visitors from January to October in 2019, before the pandemic. The entire Lednice-Valtice Area was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996.