Conference PhotosThe Thursday afternoon of the conference will be devoted to the
cultural programme with a trip to the Chateau of Kunštát and the Cave
of the Blaník Knights, followed by a conference dinner in a local
wine cellar.
Download trip information brochure
Programme
The departure from the Hotel Continental is at 12:45 by a private bus. Expected arrival to Kunštát is at 1:45 pm. One group will attend the tour of the chateau at 2:00 pm and the second group at 2:15 pm. The tour time is about 50 minutes. The tours will be followed by a short ride to the Cave of the Knights of Blaník and its lookout tower. The bus will take the attendants back to Brno, with the expected arrival to the wine cellar at 6:15 pm. The evening will be wrapped up by a wine tasting, dinner, and live cimbalom music at the Moravian Wine Bank.
One of the oldest Moravian castles, first mentioned in 1279, was rebuilt into a renaissance and baroque chateau. The interiors of the chateau show visitors the culture of living of the last holders, including Coudenhove-Honrichs and even the oldest chambers of the former Gothic castle. The complex of chateau buildings is surrounded by the park from the 17th century and modified and expanded in the 18th century. One part of the chateau park is the unique dog cemetery, found in the late 19th century.
From 1427 to 1464, the castle was the property of King George of Poděbrady, who made Kunštát known as the cradle of united Europe due to the introduction of a draft treaty of The message of peace to European rulers.
The Cave of the Blaník Knights
A unique small man-made cave near the village Rudka filled with sandstone figures carved (1928–1931) by local amateur artist Stanislav Rolínek. Statues were inspired by Czech history and the legend of the Blaník Knights.
The legend says an army is resting inside the mountain, waiting for the Czech nation to be at its worst. Its commander is the patron saint of the country, St. Wenceslaus. As soon as the Czech country will be in its deepest distress, a rock shall open up in the mountain, and the knights inside wake up from a deep sleep and will set off against the enemies. They will defeat them, and peace and tranquillity will return to Bohemia.
Conference dinner in the wine cellar
Moravian Wine Bank was founded in 1993, and its goal is to combine the long tradition of Moravian winemaking and hospitality with the latest trends and knowledge of European and world winemaking and services related to the consumption and knowledge of wine.
The whole evening will consist of a tasting of 10 wine samples and a buffet dinner with a variety of hot and cold meats, cheeses, spreads, salads, and side dishes. A live folklore music will be present as well.
Text sources: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kun%C5%A1t%C3%A1t_(z%C3%A1mek), https://www.zamek-kunstat.cz, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blan%C3%ADk, https://www.rudka.cz/jeskyne, https://bankavin.cz/.
Image sources: https://zamek-kunstat.cz/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeskyn%C4%9B_Blanick%C3%BDch_ryt%C3%AD%C5%99%C5%AF,_Kun%C5%A1t%C3%A1t,_okres_Blansko_(09).jpg https://bankavin.cz/.
