Lednice

Lednice is more of an opulent rural manor estate than a traditional castle. It is one of the most luxurious residences in the Czech Republic. Located in South Moravia, Lednice was originally a part of Liechtenstein, not the Czech Republic, and was constructed as a Renaissance villa. During the 17th century, it served as the Baroque summer residence of the princes of Liechtenstein. They also built a riding hall and a man-made cave with plaster stalactites. In the 19th century it was renovated into the magnificent English Neo-Gothic beauty it is today.

As a part of the renovation, the surrounding land was turned into a stately English garden park, which at 200 sq km is the largest in the Czech Republic. It has two of the most unusual decorative structures in Czech, a 59-m tall Islamic-style minaret, allegedly the tallest outside the Muslim world at the time, as well as fake ruins of a medieval castle by the banks of the river. The interiors of Lednice features Chinese wallpaper, cabinets, and even a Chinese-style staircase, carved from a single piece of wood, and has rooms filled with African and Asian antiques and oddities.