"Feldsberg" redirects here. For the ruined castle in Carinthia, Austria, see Burgruine Feldsberg. For various similarly named settlements, see Feldberg.
The village of Úvaly is an administrative part of Valtice.
Geography
Valtice is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) west of Břeclav and 50 km (31 mi) south of Brno. It lies on the border with Austria and borders the Austrian municipality of Schrattenberg. Valtice lies in the Lower Morava Valley lowland. The highest point is the hill Chrastiny at 292 m (958 ft) above sea level.
History
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Valtice Castle, then part of Duchy of Austria and called Feldsberg, was probably founded in the 11th century.[2] The first written mention of the village of Feldsberg is in a 1192 deed (as Veldesperch); held by the Lords of Seefeld, it was located close to the border with Moravia. Probably between 1192 and 1227, Feldsberg became a town. In 1270, lords of Seefeld died out and the estate, divided into six parts with different owners, changed hands several times. Between 1387 and 1395, the House of Liechtenstein gradually acquired the entire estate.[3]
During the Hussite Wars, the Liechtenstein were on the side of Sigismund. In 1426, the town was burned out by the Hussites.[3] The town was again devastated by the troops of the Bohemian king George of Poděbrady in 1458 as well as in the Austrian–Hungarian War by the forces of King Matthias Corvinus in 1480. The renewal and prosperity occurred in the first half of the 16th century, during the rule of Hartman I of Liechtenstein.[4]
After the war, the town became the principal seat of the Liechtensteins. Prince Karl Eusebius had rebuilt the castle and had built a new parish church, finished in 1671. He also issued an order to establish forests east from the town. His descendants continued his work. His son and later his nephew had extended the castle and had the monastery of the Brothers Hospitallers built. The overall appearance of the town changed greatly between 1648 and 1781.[3]
Until the end of World War I, the town belonged to Lower Austria. According to the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the town and its surroundings were annexed by newly established Czechoslovakia and was renamed Valtice. The main reason was the requirement that the entire Znojmo–Břeclav railway line, a branch of the former Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway, remain inside Czechoslovak territory. The Liechtenstein princely family lost its privileges with the collapse of Austria-Hungary. Valtice served as the Liechtenstein's residence continuously until 1939. The town was occupied by Nazi Germany upon the 1938 Munich Agreement and incorporated into the Reichsgau Niederdonau. After World War II the remaining German population was expelled and the castle was confiscated by the Czechoslovak government; all claims for restitution have been rejected.[4][5]
Valtice lies in the centre of Mikulovská wine subregion. The town is known as a centre of wine making in Moravia. Both the National Wine Centre and the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic reside in the Valtice Château.
Transport
The I/40 road from Břeclav to Mikulov passes through the town.
Valtice is located on the Břeclav–Znojmo railway line. It is served by two stations and stops: Valtice and Valtice město.[8]