Our first morning in Znojmo began from wandering around the city centre.
Flemming and I wanted to visit the Znojmo Catacombs, a vast labyrinth of underground passageways, built in 14th century for defensive purposes.
The tunnels were constructed with plenty of airshafts, water wells, there were large food supplies storages, and fire places – so that the inhabitants could escape and survive in times of siege. The system of the underground passages is almost 27 km long and has up to 4 floors!
Various defensive measures were incorporated into the tunnels design in case the tunnels were discovered. Some of the defensive measures included slippery slides that would drop invades into deep wells they couldn’t get out of.
The cellars had fireplaces that were connected to chimneys of houses on the surface. The smoke from the tunnels would rise through the chimneys of the houses, and many of the invaders believed it was a cursed ghost city.
No plans of Znojmo’s corridors have been preserved in any archive or city chronicle, and they were forgotten around 18th -19th centuries. It was first after the WWII, when the gradual silting of underground spaces in connection with the clearing of the ruins after the bombing, that disrupted the underground water drainage system, it became apparent something was hiding beneath. During 1960s, a systematic survey and extensive rehabilitation of the Znojmo Catacombs was started. It was an increadibly hard work, where life prisoners from the nearby prison were used as a free labour. They would all die after maximum of 6 months work.
Today, the Znojmo Catacombs is a tourist attraction. On its approx. 1 km long route you’ll hear many interesting stories.
It was nice to get back to the +35C hot sunny day from the cold and dark underground tunnels.
Flemming and I continued walking around the town. In many places, on the roads, we saw this nice symbol of Znojmo:
Lunch time, and a glass of local wine, the south Moravia is well-known for:
The fruit and berries were of a quality we rarely see in Denmark:
We bought plenty. Waited long for the seller who wasn’t there, then just left some estimated money and walked away.
The historical Znojmo is a small town, but a very pretty one.
In one of the housers we saw a collection of large beer cans – 10 litres each! Why drink small? 🙂
There were small and big churches everywhere, narrow streets with charming old buildings, and a very nice relaxing atmosphere.
In the evening, we made our way to a tophill cafe, where there was an open air concert.
They played and sang, the spectators were drinking wine, children – screaming in the background 🙂
It was very enjoyable to sit there and admire those wonderful views:
The air temperature dropped down to +30C, and a light breeze was so welcome.
After the concert, we slowly walked down to our “home”, with some photo stops on the way by those charming old houses…
