The chateau from the north with a part of Vranov, coloured pencil sketch by Josef Doré, 1870’s.

North-western view of the church

Western view of St. Andrew’s rotund

Chapel of St. Helena in Zadní Hamry

Chapel of Virgin Mary the Protector, coloured pencil by Josef Doré, 1870’s

Chapel of Virgin Mary the Protector today, originally Temple of Diana, late 18th century

Mniszek’s cross built shortly after 1846

Polish-German inscription on the base of the Mniszek’s cross

Mniszek cross, coloured pencil by Josef Doré, 1870’s

Clary cross on a painting by Josef Doré, second third of the 19th century

Clary cross above the dam today

Duke Karel Clary, photo of a period lithograph, 1832

Baroque statue of St. John of Nepomuk

Statue of the Madonna in the park behind church

Wayside column by the road to Lančov

Wayside column by the old road to Onšov

Vranov dam	Town square with plague column	Hotel Pod Zámkem	Bridge in Junácké údolí valley
Centre of the town of Vranov	Felicity spring	Baroque rectory	Chateau hotel
Ruins of the House of Philosophers in the forest above the chateau	Squire’s house	Concrete inter-war fortress in the forest above the chateau	Wayside column of St. Joseph
The cover of a memorial record accompanying the erection of an obelisk above the Ice Caves	Obelisk above the ice cages, coloured pencil by Josef Doré, 1870’s	Braitava folly, coloured pencil by Josef Doré, 1870’s	Braitava folly today, after reconstruction

Vranov township monuments

The earliest preserved documents indicate that Vranov nad Dyjí is a considerably ancient town. The small settlement, which gradually developed below the land-owner's castle during the 12th century, already possessed its own parish authority and its inhabitants earned a living from crafts and agriculture. In the 16th century, during which the evangelical confession prevailed temporarily, the town was surrounded by battlements and increased in economic importance because of the presence of iron-mills, a brewery, a lime-kiln and a manor house. During the Thirty Years War, in 1641 and 1645 the town was occupied and ransacked by Swedish soldiers. Later the town became renowned for the construction of the unique Baroque castle; during the 19th century, for the presence of the well-known stoneware factory; and some seventy years ago, by the erection of the Vranov Dam. The development of the present tourist industry is also supported by the unique nature of the nearby Podyjí National Park.

Parish Church. This is the largest and most important historical monument in Vranov. It was built as early as the first half of the 13th century, vaulted in the Gothic period, and enlarged by the present sacristy. After Vranov had been burnt and ransacked by the Swedish soldiers in 1645, the church was gradually rebuilt in the Baroque style around 1685 and throughout the 18th century under the patronage of the counts of Althann. Of the richly furnished church interior it is worth mentioning, among others, the Roman-Gothic baptismal font, the statues of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Peter dating from around 1770, the Rococo period altar dating from the second third of the 18th century, with a painting of St. John of Nepomuk by one of the painters around F. A. Maulbertsch, or two Baroque paintings dating from the first third of the 18th century, depicting scenes from the life of The Virgin Mary, placed in stucco frames in the presbytery.

St. Andrew's Chapel. The chapel, consisting of a vaulted rotunda with an apse, is a late Romanesque building dating from the first half of the 13th century. Around the middle of the 18th century, the Baroque period imprinted its style in the chapel's fasade with a painting of Christ's face on the so-called Veronica's veil. The crypt of the chapel, the entrance to which is now filled in and walled up, is an authentic charnel house containing several layers of human skulls. Previously the chapel was surrounded by a graveyard, which has been disused since the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

St Helen’s Chapel (in the Zadní Hamry settlement). A small Empire style structure built in 1815 to the order of Helena von Mniszek. The tower dates back to 1899.

Chapel of Virgin Mary the Protector (in the forest behind the farmstead, near the so-called Countess’ Meadow). It was established in the 1890s by Josef Hilgartner of Lilienborn as a small temple consecrated to the ancient goddess Diana (Diana Tempel) – the interior was decorated with sculptures of ancient mythology figures. Helena von Mniszek refurnished the chapel and consecrated it to the Virgin Mary (Maria Schutz) during the second quarter of the 19th century. Monument of the late classicising expression and form.

Mniszek Cross. Placed on the so-called Cross Hill, the cross dates from shortly after 1847. In honour of her late husband Stanislaw, it was built by Helen of Mniszek, owner of the castle, in the place favoured and often visited by her husband. This is indicated by the Polish-German inscription on a cast-iron plaque contained in the brick-built foundation of the cross, reading "To the best of men from his wife, to the kindest of fathers from his children. In memory of His Excellency Count Stanislaw of Mniszek". This interesting regional memorial is part of the Clary tourist trail.

Clary's Cross. Made of cast iron at Blansko and placed in the woods above the present Vranov Reservoir, Clary's cross dominates the surrounding landscape. A plaque at its base bears this inscription in German: "In memory of my friend, Count Karel Clary, 1831". The monument was built by Count Stanislaw of Mniszek, owner of the manorial estate, after Karel Clary, his long-time friend, writer, painter and humanist, had visited Vranov during a cholera epidemic, became infected and died shortly afterwards.

Figure of the Madonna. (in the park behind the church). A rococo Immaculata sculpture from the second third of the 18th century, i.e. the crowned Virgin Mary with Infant Jesus standing on the globe entwined by a serpent and intersected by the crescent moon. It was installed at the present location, i.e. the old cemetery location, shortly after 1950.

Figure of St John of Nepomuk (the right bank of the Dyje river, near the bridge). A high-quality life-sized Baroque sculpture representing St John of Nepomuk holding his own tongue instead of the usual crucifix, demonstrating the inviolability of the seal of confession and conveying the story of the Saint’s life. The sculpture was created to the order of Mary Anne von Althann née Pignatelli in 1731.

Bowers – minor church structures with a niche inside, without windows, standing free in the landscape or along roads. As an example, the 1754 bower built in the fading Baroque forms, originally consecrated to the Virgin Mary (at the crossing of the roads to Lančov and to the dam gate) is a historically and artistically distinct structure. The bower of St. Joseph (at the crossing below the petrol station) will also attract attention as a valuable classicising structure dating back to 1826, with an original neo-gothic altar. According to the 19th century reports, it was established at the location of a mass grave of Swedish soldiers and Vranov residents killed in 1645 as the small town – during the fruitless siege of the castle – was plundered by the army of the Swedish General Torstenson.

Plague Column. Standing in the town square, the Plague Column is a valuable Baroque monument built in 1713 by Earl Michael Hermann Althann, owner of the manorial estate. The column commemorates the dramatic epidemics of the so-called Black Death that decimated Vranov in 1680, killing 81 of its inhabitants. The top of the column bears the statue of The Immaculate Virgin Mary, below which the authors placed four patrons: St. Rochus with a dog, St. Florian pouring water from a pail, St. Sebastian, his chest pierced with arrows, and St. John of Nepomuk holding a crucifix.

Felicia's Well. The little well was built in 1806 at the foot of the Braitava Hill below the castle, near the entrance to the so-called Felicia's valley. The walls of the well are decorated with coloured embossed vegetation. In the middle of its interior, vaulted by a coffered cupola, there is a small cistern receiving water from the adjacent slope. Over the front bearing a valuable frieze picturing dancing nymphs there is a triangular shield with an inscription in German:" Felicia, Countess of Mniszek, provided and donated this well to refresh weary pilgrims and to embellish her beloved valley". The monument is part of the Helen of Mniszek tourist trail.

Obelisk by the so-called Ice Caves. Above the Ice Caves (more on nature) on the top of the rocky plateau, which offers a breathtaking view of the Dyje river valley, stands a massive obelisk. It was erected around 1860 by the Vranov Decorative Society to express gratitude to the Countess Helena Mniszek, who opened this beautiful landscape to the public. In the foundations of this obelisk, a container with coins is immured next to the stump of the trunk of an old pine, which originally used to grow on the top of the rock.

Lusthaus (hunting folly in Braitava, close to the state border) – built in the summer of 1780 during the rule of the last Althann of Vranov, Michal Josef, on an irregular hexagon plan as a two-floor structure – in the spirit of the late Baroque, but in part already taking classicising forms. The ground floor served for the preparation of meals and to store game and clothes, while the room on the first floor, lit by a row of large windows, was intended for feasts and social events in general. The folly was also designed as a vista, and before the clearings, vistas and communications gave way to the forest, it offered a view of the contours of the chateau. The heritage is currently administered by the Podyjí National Park; it has been restored and occasionally serves for meetings and as a representative venue.

Former Stoneware Factory. The large oblong building with a gable roof and a tall chimney, situated next to the "Zámecký" Hotel, is a former stoneware factory. In the 1840's, Countess Helen of Mniszek, owner of the castle, had it rebuilt to the present shape. In its time, this was a well-known factory. From 1799 to 1882 it produced, above all, tea and coffee services, dishes and toilet sets, decorative vases as well as figurative, liturgical and other objects. Notably from the 1820' to 1840's, the production attained unusual technological and aesthetical mastery and massively entered the home and European market. The famous history of the Vranov stoneware is commemorated by selected collections deposited in a number of European museums.

Important Houses. The rich history of Vranov is documented by some of its houses. Entering the town in the direction from Znojmo, the visitor's attention will be captured by the two-gabled front of the Baroque mill dating from the early 18th century, bearing the coats of arms of the Althann family and Marie Anna Pignatelli. The house of the post office in the town square is of medieval origin but the present appearance dates from the late 19th century. Previously the house comprised the guildhall, the town lock-up, and an old fire station. In the square there are other important houses dating from the middle ages and rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as the present "Pod zámkem" Hotel and the neighbouring "Pážecí dům". Of earlier origin is also the Baroque presbytery next to the church, the present appearance of which dates from the first quarter of the 18th century. The present school building is the former head office of the castle brewery gradually built in the 17th and 18th centuries and last rebuilt in 1906. Of interest is also the classicist house of the castle gardener, situated above the football pitch playground.

Vranov Reservoir. The dam of the Vranov Reservoir was built between 1930 and 1934, using the cast concrete technology. The rock bearing the fundaments of the dam was injected with concrete down to a depth of 10 - 20 metres. The maximum height of the dam is 59.9 metres, its crown is 290.4 metres long and 7 metres wide, and its maximum breadth at the base is 42.2 metres. The dam contains three machine rooms provided with Francis turbines that swallow 3 x l5 cubic metres of water per second. The output of the generators is 3 x 6 MW, the water discharge is 51 cubic metres per second, the annual mean output of power is 25 GWh. The constant water volume retained by the reservoir is almost 32 million cubic metres; its utility volume, 79.9 million m3; its maximum volume, about 132 million m3. The maximum length of the lake is 29.8 kilometres; its maximum depth at the dam is 42 metres. The lake is utilised for recreation and sport fishing.

Frontier Fortifications at Vranov. From 1935 to 1938 the frontiers of the republic were fortified with a mighty chain of small reinforced concrete fortresses forming a defence system predominantly permitting lateral firing. A total of 19 such "bunkers" remained undamaged in the strategic space around Vranov. They are conspicuous landscape elements and are unique technical monuments both individually and, above all, as a whole. Their line begins close below the castle, continuing along the road towards the buildings of the former farm and along the Junácké valley up to the dam of the Vranov Reservoir. They present various modifications of the 37 LO fortress type. Most of them are freely accessible and in three of them, lying closest to the castle, interested visitors coming in the summer season are offered expert explanation.