The entrance to the castle park in Lednice will be free of charge

Lednice - The entrance to the park and gardens of the castle in Lednice in the Břeclav region will remain free of charge. After a meeting of representatives of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) with the leadership of the municipality of Lednice, which was also attended by Minister of Culture Antonín Staněk (ČSSD), NPÚ spokesperson Jana Hartmanová confirmed this to ČTK. She added that the general director of the heritage institute does not wish to comment further on the situation. NPÚ originally intended to introduce an entrance fee. Locals criticized this plan.

"The entrance to the castle park and garden in Lednice will remain free for visitors. Mere charging is not a solution; other forms of regulation and protection from unruly visitors need to be sought," stated the Minister of Culture on his Twitter account.

The administration of the castle, which is listed as part of the Lednice-Valtice Area on the UNESCO World Heritage list, had considered introducing entrance fees for the castle park starting in May. Due to some visitors who ride bicycles in the park despite the ban, litter, and damage to the floral planting, the maintenance of the park costs around four million crowns annually.

According to the original plan, visitors over eighteen years old were to pay 30 crowns for entry to the park, with this ticket valid for five days. Children were to continue entering for free, and locals would have the option to purchase an annual pass at a symbolic price.

However, locals were not in favor of this plan, and the Ministry of Culture got involved in the negotiations. After today's meeting, it is clear that there will be no fee for entering the park in Lednice.

Lednice Castle is the most visited monument in South Moravia, with nearly 400,000 people visiting from January to October last year. A large portion of visitors, however, do not go directly into the castle and spend their time simply walking through the expansive castle gardens and park.