Iron Gate Hotel Prague

A fantasy of Central European castles

Moravia castles

Prague trip on the South Moravia should take just over four hours by train, about half of that time in a rental car. Vienna, the trip is much shorter: just about an hour in a car or two to three hours by train.

Noble castles and other buildings

With few exceptions, most noble castles and other buildings in the area are owned by the Czech state today, and will remain open to the public. The official tourism website for the administrative region of South Moravia, www.Jizni-morava.cz, lists of wine festivals, folk concerts and other events, and resources for housing and planning a holiday in Mikulov, Valtice and Lednice.

Where to Stay

In Mikulov, Hotel Templ (Husova 50, www.templ.cz) has cottages of charm in a beautifully restored building in the old Jewish quarter. Doubles start at CZK 1650 per night (about $ 94 to 17.5 kronor to the dollar).

Overlooking a lake between Lednice and Valtice, within easy walking distance of several follies, a castle of Liechtenstein has been transformed into Zamecek Little Border (16 Hlohovec; www.hranicnizamecek.cz). The rooms in a separate building The newest one is more motel-like as majestic start to 1500 crowns for a double.

In Kromeriz, go to the Cerny Orel, or Black Eagle (Velke namesti 24; www.cerny-orel.eu), a combination hotel and microbrewery with some of the best meals and the finest beers in all of Moravia - as well the newly decorated rooms. Doubles start at 1,300 kroner.

Where to eat

The culinary revolution sweeping the Czech capital has not yet reached most rural Moravia. However, Mikulov Petit Café (Namesti 27, 420-733-378-264) offers crepes and local wines in a cozy coffee just to cool the main square.

Like a modern madness Liechtenstein, the Art Gallery Manger (1 Kapucinska; www.eatartgallery.eu) perfectly reproduces an English tea room in an alley Mikulov, serving meals surprisingly good as the chicken and vegetables cooked with couscous, as well as traditional Czech, all based on local, seasonal ingredients.

The dark forest felt quite familiar, raggedy alternating oak and silver beech trees in the dense network located throughout Central Europe. Along the trail, the omnipresent woody plants in the Old World - nettles, burdock, fennel and sorrel - grew in abundance summer standard.

Enjoying the Historical Iron Gate Hotel in Prague | EuropeUpClose

Prague, the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic , is a gorgeous, alive destination that regularly reinvents itself while retaining its rich historical, cultural, and architechtural significance. And,  The Iron Gate Hotel & Suites is the perfect accomodation choice for enjoying all of the fairytale wonders of Prague. The hotel, located in the heart of Prague, is just a short walk down a cobbled street from the famous Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square. The hotel sits on a quiet side street, making it hard to believe you are in the middle of the tourist zone.

While the building occupied by the Iron Gate dates back to the 14th century, the facade of the hotel was modified in the early 1800s by Count Ludvik Jan Hartig (1736-1813), a lover of art and music. Count Hartig possessed a distinctive personality and was the inspiration for one of the characters in Eduard Mörike’s classic novel, Mozart’s Journey to Prague (the original is in the Getty Museum.)  These wooden ceilings had been covered with plaster for almost three hundred years, hidden from sight through wars and regime changes.