Vannes City Walls, Vannes, France

In the third century AD, the city of Vannes, called Darioritum, acquires the right to fortify. Thus, west of the Gallo-Roman city, a castrum was built. During the Middle Ages, the castrum becomes the centre of the city. Extended in the 14th century, it is reinforced in the 15th century. Over the following two centuries, the ramparts are modernised with the construction of the Garenne buttress. Several medieval gates has been survived, like Tour du Connétable and Château de l'Hermine (former castle, transformed into a palace in the 17th century). Today there is a nice view from the park Jardins des Remparts to the walls.

User Reviews

Carlos Soto (2 years ago)
Nice place for a stroll in britanny

gregory olivier (2 years ago)
Vannes is a charming and beautiful town. The center has its traditional Brittany spirit. During the season’s greetings the city was illuminated and we had the chance to do free ice skating. Thanks to Vannes.

John Garner (3 years ago)
Brilliant place. Well worth a visit. We had only a morning there but had a good walk around. Plenty to see. Gardens are beaitiful and very well kept.

Beverley Howarth (3 years ago)
Facilities need sorting out only 2 toilets available during our stay other doors locked and they were communal

Robert (3 years ago)
A beautiful area nicely maintained and well worth walking around. The old way houses on the edge of the river are a delight and you should take time to see them. The gardens are nicely laid out and give a haven of tranquillity. It would be nice to be able to walk more of the walls but at least part of it is accessible.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright beyondhue

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Lednice Castle

The first historical record of Lednice locality dates from 1222. At that time there stood a Gothic fort with courtyard, which was lent by Czech King Václav I to Austrian nobleman Sigfried Sirotek in 1249.

At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

During the revolt of the Czech nobility he stood on the side of the Habsburgs, and took part in the Battle of White Mountain. After the uprising was defeated in 1620 he systematically acquired property confiscated from some of the rebels, and the Liechtensteins became the wealthiest family in Moravia, rising in status above the Žerotíns. Their enormous land holdings brought them great profits, and eventually allowed them to carry out their grandious building projects here in Lednice.

In the 16th century it was probably Hartmann II of Liechtenstein who had the old medieval water castle torn down and replaced with a Renaissance chateau. At the end of the 17th century the chateau was torn down and a Baroque palace was built, with an extensive formal garden, and a massive riding hall designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach that still stands in almost unaltered form.

In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

The chateau as it looks today dates from 1846-1858, when Prince Alois II decided that Vienna was not suitable for entertaining in the summer, and had Lednice rebuilt into a summer palace in the spirit of English Gothic. The hall on the ground floor would serve to entertain the European aristocracy at sumptuous banquets, and was furnished with carved wood ceilings, wooden panelling, and select furniture, surpassing anything of its kind in Europe.

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