Mikulov
the heart of Moravia
Mikulov is a historical town of over 7 thousand inhabitants situated to the south of Brno in the southern part of the region of Moravia, directly at the border with Austria. The town lies within the dramatic landscape of the Pavlovske Hills (Pavlovske Vrchy). Its panorama is domineered by the local chateau located on a rock to the west of the main square. On one side, the town is surrounded by a flat-plain with several lakes making the whole area one of the most fertile and warmest areas of the Czech Republic. Therefore, Mikulov (and its chateau) is an ideal scenic stop-over for all wine lovers, lovers of lush architecture, and lovers of dramatic landscape.
Today´s chateau grew in the place of the original Romanesque and Gothic castle, which was rebuilt in 17th century. For 3 centuries, the town was owned by the Liechtensteins (Lichtenstejnove in Czech). Later, the town (and the chateau) were owned by the Dietrichsteins until 1945, when the chateau burned out.nMikulov is also a home of one of the biggest Jewish communities in Moravia with the first Jews coming as early as 1421, when they were driven away from Vienna and Lower Austria and found refuge here. However, fires did not spare the Jewish quarter either, and it had to be renewed several times. All the fires led to the opening of the Central Jewish Museum of Moravia and Silesia in 1936. The Second World War meant an abrupt and final end of the Jewish community in Mikulov, which has never been renewed. However, thanks to the size of the local Jewish community before WWII, the local Jewish quarter is still one of the town´s biggest attractions.nThe town, and the whole surrounding area, is a major producer of wine, which was brought here by the Romans. The southern hills of Palava produce some of the best wines in Europe thanks to the hot climate, and calcic soil.nThe chateau now houses the local Museum of Wine.nAlso, the whole area is very suitable for cycling, and it has a number of scenic cyclopaths.nAmong the major sights rank the Jewish Synagogue, the Prism-Shaped Gothic Town Tower, the Giant Wine Barrel, the Castle Garden Grounds, the Holy Trinity Column in the main square (Sloup Nejsvětější Trojice) etc.