LIECHTENSTEIN HERITAGE GREENWAY

Czech Republic, Austria

Trail presentation

The Liechtenstein Heritage Trail is a cross-border greenway of 85 km (1 backbone trail) + 100 km (5 local loops) connecting Austria and the Czech Republic. It is one of the thematic loops of the Prague – Vienna Greenway which is the oldest and currently most visited greenway of the Central European Greenway (CEG) family.

For centuries, the Liechtenstein family had been shaping the landscape in an area connecting two palaces in Lednice and Valtice. The two residences are linked by an alley of trees. The Lednice Palace is associated with spectacular buildings, including a riding-school, a minaret in the Moorish style designed by architect Josef Hardtmuth and a greenhouse based on the English winter garden.

Present day Lednice-Valtice area dates back to the Romantic period of the 19^th century. Several structures were inspired by the English-garden style, including Apollo's Temple, the Temple of the Three Graces and a building at the former Czech-Austrian border. The Lednice-Valtice site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996.

The greenway concept has been adopted on the Liechtenstein Heritage Trail. Visitors to the Lednice-Valtice area can walk or bike through forests, across meadows, past ponds, and discover Romantic monuments, such as Triumphal Arch, Colonnade and Minaret. The parks and gardens contain a collection of exotic trees and plants, including the largest collection of North American plants outside North America. Local ponds provide habitats to rare species of birds and have been designated for protection under Natura 2000.

The idea of the cross-border Liechtenstein Heritage Trail originated in Austria where part of the trail was marked out in 2001 by a local association of municipalities and entrepreneurs called Weinviertler Dreilandereck. By 2003, the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation together with 9 local municipalities had marked out the trail on the Czech side of the border. The coat of arms of the Liechtestein royal family can be found on all signs for cyclists on both sides of the border.

The project is being developed as a cross-border trail by the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation together with municipalities on the Czech side and Weinviertel Dreilanedereck Association on the Austrian side of the border. The project is financed partially from public funds, EU sources and private investment.

Main tourist attractions and towns along this trail (nature and cultural heritage)

Lednice-Valtice UNESCO heritage area with monuments such as colonnades, artificial castle ruines, minaret, lakes and ponds, gardens;

Lednice – palace and parks, boat trips on the Dyje river;

Valtice – palace and the Czech Wine Center, Museum of Agriculture, wine cellars;

Wilfersdorf - Liechtenstein Palace;

Poysdorf - Wine town, typical wine cellars, farmers' market

Main cultural events along the Greenway: Summer on the Greenway

Geographical reference mark (major access points/start/end of a greenway)

Breclav – main transport hub for trains from Prague-Vienna /train border crossing to A, SK/, Valtice train station, Hohenau train station /train border crossing to CZ/.

General characteristics of the Greenway

- length: 85 km (1 backbone trail) + 100 km (5 local loops).

- surface:

25% - asphalt cycle-paths

15% – forestry and service roads with hard surface

35 % – unpaved forestry and service roads

20 % – quiet roads

5 % – roads with medium motor traffic

- signposting:

The Liechtenstein Heritage Trail is signposted with yellow signs with the coat of arms of the Liechtenstein family. They are identical on the Czech and Austrian side. For better orientation the trail is equipped with information boards and maps located at the points of interest.

- information boards: 20

- picnic areas: 10

- main users: cyclists, hikers, also boaters; points of interest: Lednice Palace, Valtice Palace and other Liechtenstein monuments, Museum of Agriculture in Valtice, sightseeing boat rides, wine cellars etc.

- bicycle friendly establishments

Available maps and guidebooks

Liechtenstein route – map in German and Czech, Dec 2003 (free)
LVA – map - only the Czech section of the greenway (free)

Contact to Trail Organization

Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation

Lubos Kala, Liechtenstein Greenway Corodinator

Panska 7, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Tel.: +420-542422776, Fax: +420-542422777, E-mail: lubos.kala@ecn.cz

Weinviertel Dreilanedereck Association

Liechtensteinstr. 1, 2170 Poysdorf, Österreich

Tel.: +43 -2552-20444, Fax: +43-2552-20445, E-mail: office@wde.at

Web-page: www.radviertel.at , www.wde.at , www.prahawien.greenways.info

Contact in English via e-mail lubos.kala@ecn.cz, office@wde.at

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Photos, text: Dominika Zareba, Valeria Klitsounova, Elena Vetrova, Tsimur Kroll \| Drawings: Iwona Siwek-Front
Project "Greenways for Belarus", implemented by the Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation and the "Agro and Ecotourism" Association, is financed thanks to the support from the Program of Polish Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in 2006.