Educational Wine Trail of Mikulov
Characteristics of the trail
Length of trail: 25 km
Difficulty: medium
Type of cycles: road, trekking
This thematic educational trail brings visitors into contact with the histoy of the area below the hill of Pálava, a place with a rich thousand-year viticultural tradition. The twenty-five kilometre long track of the Mikulov educational trail can be undertaken on foot, on a bicycle or by car. The track is signposted and fitted out with 17 information panels.
Description of the route
The starting point is the car park near Komerční banka, a short way from Mikulov’s main square, where one can find the first panel which contains the basic information. From here it goes through the town centre to Kostelní (Church) square, where information on the Mikulov wine region awaits you. Here you can turn off and visit the chateau and its cellars, where you can find one of the largest historical barrels in Europe (contents 101,000 litres). The trail then leads out of town in the direction of the wine villages that lies right below the Pálava hill. Before arriving at Bavory take a moment to study the ecology of the vineyards and ways to protect them organically. In Bavory the panel will familiarise you with the history of this wine village. From Bavory you will continue among the fields as far as Perná, seat of the famous vine and wine research station. Here the succesful cultivars Pálava and Aurelius were born, which do much to enrich the wide varietal offer of the vineyards below Pálava. In the village you will find several panels discussing the history of the community, the ancient wine laws and on developing new grape varieties. Nor will you miss out on a mention of the devastating vine beetle Phylloxera Vastatrix. The route continues on through Horní Věstonice (panel on the village‘s history) to the more renowned community of Dolní Věstonice, a place where the world-famous Věstonice Venus was discovered. Here you can visit the archaeological exhibition and the panel with a map of the educational trail also has information on the history of this wine village. There is an interesting chapter written at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries by the Anabaptists who raised the level of skills in a wide variety of trades and crafts, including winemaking. To this day Anabaptist cellars (Habánské sklepy) are preserved in the village. From Věstonice the route continues on its way to Pavlov.
The rich architectural heritage renders Pavlov as one of the best preserved wine communities and a unique conservation area. Well worth seeing are the historical cellar houses in Česká street, but do not miss the opportunity to visit the village wine shop. As you will gather from the information panel, there are many ecologically-inclined grape growers and certified organic vintners in Pavlov.
The final segment of the wine trail leads through the woods from Pavlov along the road to Klentnice, situated beneath the ruins of a castle known as Sirotčí hrad. Here at the crossroads to Perná you will find the last, seventeenth table with a map, closing the collection of information panels.
