To open this tour, which focuses on recent restoration projects in and around Prague and Brno, architectural historian Zdenek Lukeš will give an introductory talk at the restored Obecni Dum, a gem of Prague’s glorious Art Nouveau style. This is just a short walk from our hotel, a recently restored building of the same period, in the heart of the Old Town.

The actual sightseeing will begin with the Castle District, Hradčany. Just in front of the Castle is the Schwarzenberg Palace, now restored and due to re-open in March 2008 as the Baroque Museum. We will also visit another private palace in the square. Within the castle complex is the Lobkowicz Palace, where the magnificent family art collection, comprising a fine Spanish display and masterpieces by Brueghel and Canaletto has recently been installed and opened to the public. After lunch in a private room here, we will walk down through the recently-restored Lower Prague Castle Gardens to the Wallenstein Palace and Gardens, awarded a Europa Nostra Diploma in 2002. We will be shown the palace interiors, with fine stucco and fresco decoration. In the Mala Strana, or Lesser Town, we will visit, by special permission, the Palace of the Knights of Malta.

This morning we have privileged access to the Holy Rood Chapel at Karlstejn, Charles IV’s castle near Prague , site of the original wood panel paintings by Master Theodoric (recipient of an Europa Nostra award). We continue to Nelahozeves, a palatial Renaissance castle on the river Vltava , built for an aristocratic Tyrolean, Florian Griesbach, private Secretary to the Emperor Ferdinand I. It was restituted in 1993 to the Lobkowicz family who had owned it since the 17th century. Recipient of an Europa Nostra restoration grant in 2000, it is now being rearranged as a family museum. Nearby is the charming chateau of Veltrusy, which was damaged in the floods of 2002, but has now been restored. Originally seat of the Chotek family, it has richly-furnished interiors and a parkland setting.

On one evening we plan to include a performance at the Opera or a concert at the Prague Spring festival, according to schedules.

We head south-east for Moravia, pausing in Ždár nad Sázavou to visit the remarkable star-shaped chapel by Santini. After lunch with the Kinsky family, who restituted the abbey, we continue to Brno, capital of the region. We shall be staying in a converted 16th-century mansion, by the same Italian architect as the nearby Town Hall. Visits here will include the late Gothic church of St James, the newly-opened Mendel Museum , the Library of the Augustinian Monastery and, by way of contrast, Mies van der Rohe’s UNESCO-listed Villa Tugendhat. We will have lunch privately at the restituted Empire-style country house of Boskovice and visit the stately chateau of Rájec nad Svitavou, with the Salm family art collection.

Close to the Austrian border are the former Liechtenstein estates of Valtice and Lednice, where a visit to the castle, including the restored Winter Garden is planned. Next we will take a carriage ride through the park and have a picnic at the Rendezvous folly, dating from 1810. We continue to the lovely hill-town of Mikulov, at the heart of the Palava wine-growing region and visit the restored Dietrichstein tombs and Jewish graveyard.

We drive through lovely unspoilt countryside to Kroměříž, summer residence of the Bishops of Olomouc, with the episcopal library and art collection including paintings by Van Dyck and Titian. We will also be shown the Renaissance castle at Bučovice. The austere Italianate façade conceals an elegant arcaded courtyard and delightful interior decoration, with painted scenes of rural courtly life. Returning to Brno, we pass the site of the Battle of Austerlitz. Our last evening will be spent at the castle of Namest nad Oslavou, and will include dinner and a concert in the fine library.

In the morning, we return to Prague via Brtnice, where we will visit the Hoffmann House, refurbished by the Viennese architect Josef Hoffmann c.1910 (he had been born in the house 40 years earlier). Now restored and re-opened as a museum, this is a joint project of the Moravian Gallery in Brno and MAK, Vienna.

The tour begins at the Hotel K & K Central in Prague, with dinner on the evening of 19 May. The tour ends on 26 May by midday at Prague Airport.

Booking Form

Booking Conditions