Letohrádek Portz

Letohrádek Portz is a Baroque summer pavilion standing on a former island called Portz Insel (today Tichý ostrov, or Silent Island), roughly 5 km southeast of Mikulov's town centre, right next to the border with Austria. The building rises on an artificially raised, walled terrace with corner bastions, giving it the look of a small fortress built in the Italian "palazzo in fortezza" style — a representative residence disguised as a defensive structure.

Who built the summer house, and when?

The island estate was founded by Prince and Cardinal František of Dietrichstein (1570–1636), owner of the Mikulov dominion, who in the first half of the 17th century had the countryside around the town landscaped with ornamental gardens and pleasure buildings. A 1629 record mentions "a beautiful pleasure garden on Portz island with a summer house" — the earliest known reference to the site. The first firmly dated mention of the building itself comes from 1672, tied to instructions issued ahead of a visit by Emperor Leopold I.

What does the building look like, and what lies underground?

The letohrádek is a two-storey, unvaulted rectangular structure with a symmetrical two-armed balustraded staircase on its eastern side. The ground floor was fitted out for kitchen work, while the upper floor held one large flat-ceilinged hall, later subdivided into smaller rooms. An extensive network of underground corridors connected the summer house to the nearby farm buildings, used both for supplying the residence and for staging surprises for garden guests — a small chamber decorated with shells has survived, along with a ceiling opening once used to hoist refreshments up to the hall above. A stone wall once enclosed the entire island, of which only fragments remain today. A long brick bridge carried visitors across the pond to the building, and a two-and-a-half-kilometre tree-lined avenue linked the island to Mikulov itself.

How did the site fare over the following centuries?

The residence was used only sporadically. By 1744 it was already described as abandoned and neglected, and a fire in the town in 1784 pushed any repairs further down the priority list. A reconstruction plan drawn up in 1831 by architect Anton Jöndl was never carried out. The real turning point came in the second half of the 19th century: the Portz pond was drained, and in 1872 the Břeclav–Znojmo railway line was built straight through the former island, turning it into a peninsula and stripping the place of its romantic setting.

After 1945 the area fell inside a heavily controlled border zone, cutting off access almost entirely — the underground passages were filled in, and by 1989 the building had even lost its roof. Since 1995 the letohrádek, together with its access bridge, has been protected as an immovable cultural monument. Serious restoration began once the property passed into private hands in 2003, with early work clearing overgrown vegetation, reinforcing the structure and fitting a new roof; a further renovation phase starting in 2013 restored interiors and added usable space under the roof.

Can visitors actually get inside today?

The site remains privately owned and still sits within a restricted border zone, so there is no regular public access. The current owners, connected to the Vino Cibulka winery, have planted vineyards around the bastion, while the underground cellars stay closed because they now shelter a protected bat species. The place occasionally opens for organised wine tastings held outdoors during the summer season — anyone hoping to visit should check current announcements rather than expect a fixed opening schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Letohrádek Portz located? On the former island of Portz Insel (Tichý ostrov), about 5 km southeast of Mikulov's centre, next to the Nový pond and the Austrian border.

Who commissioned it? Cardinal František of Dietrichstein, owner of the Mikulov estate, in the first half of the 17th century.

Can visitors enter the underground corridors? No — the cellars and tunnels are closed, primarily to protect a colony of bats.

Is the site open to the public? Not on a regular basis. It is private property inside a border-zone area, and access is only occasionally possible during wine-related events.

Is it a protected monument? Yes, since 1995 the summer house and its approach bridge have been listed as an immovable cultural monument.