Photo Challenge # 14 - Name This Location

Here is the next photo challenge for you to guess, can you name the town where this picture was taken? The decorative wooden bridge is part of the gardens beneath the castle. As usual, clicking on the photo to enlarge it may help provide some clues. Good luck!

Quirky and Unusual Sights # 4 - The Minaret in Lednice, Czech Republic

The Lednice-Valtice region was once the family home of the Lichtensteins, who began developing the complex in the 18th century. Many pavilions, fountains, statues, arches and castle ruins can be found spread over an area of several hundred square kilometres. In the 19th century the complex was further developed with many structures built between the family's palaces in the towns of Lednice and Valtice.

The palace in Lednice is surrounded by a huge landscaped garden, the most unique and outlandish feature of which is the minaret, built in a Moorish-revival style in 1802. At 60 metres high, it was supposedly the tallest minaret outside the Muslim world at the time of its construction. In the early 19th century it was very popular for the European aristocracy to embrace exotic foreign cultures and artistic forms by having palace rooms decorated in Chinese, Japanese or Middle Eastern styles.

One story of the minaret's construction claims that Prince Alois Lichtenstein had planned to construct a church in the town of Lednice, but his proposal was rejected by the local municipality. As an act of cheeky defiance, he ordered the construction of the minaret as a substitute. Its construction was led by the architect Hardmuth, who had a difficult task given the extremely swampy ground the structure is built on. This was overcome by driving wooden piles deep into the soil to act as a foundation. The minaret has a wide base structure with turrets and arcades lining the roof, all topped with a crescent moon symbol. The exterior of the lower floor is decorated with textual inscriptions from the Koran written in Arabic script. The lower floor contains eight rooms with Moorish designs painted on the walls. The main tower provides views over the Lednice castle gardens and as far south as Valtice and the Austrian border. Today it is used as a lookout tower and is a popular attraction for visitors to the Lednice palace.

The Lednice-Valtice area is a possible day trip from Brno, Bratislava or Vienna. Local trains connect it to the nearby town of Břeclav, which is a major rail hub with regular trains to all the surrounding cities and international capitals. The Lednice-Valtice area can also be explored while staying in Mikulov, which is a lovely Czech town a few kilometres west of the region.

Remarkable Relics of Communism # 6 - Prague, Czech Republic

In the Royal Garden next to Prague Castle, not far from the Royal Summer Residence, you will find the Royal Ball Game Hall. This building dates from the 16th century and was used by the king's courtiers for sporting activities. The structure was damaged by fire in May 1945 during the last stages of World War Two, but it was fully rebuilt in the 1950's. Along with the many mythological deities that were carefully restored on the facade, a small addition was made that remains as a quirky reminder of the communist period. A figure unfurling a scroll meant to be a five-year plan with a hammer and sickle was included in the design, together with the letters 'ČSR', for Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. This is a detail that you have to look closely to find (it's along the top row of the facade near the roof), so be sure to stop and take a closer look if you are visiting Prague Castle.