13. Vranov nad Dyjí – Mikulov
Lenght: 72 km
Border checkpoints:
Čížov – Hardegg (T)
Hnanice – Mitterretzbach (A,T)
Hatě – Kleinhaugsdorf (A,T)
Hevlín - Laa an der Thaya (A,T)
Jaroslavice - Seefeld/Kadolz (T)
Nový Přerov - Alt Prerau (T)
Mikulov – Ottenthal (A,T)
Znojmo – Retz (R)
Other sights:
Vranov nad Dyjí – water reservoir, castle Čížov – reconstructed part of Iron curtain Hardeggská vyhlídka (look-out)- nearby Čížov Býčí hora (Býčí mountain, 536m) Šobes – this area was settled in stone age, used for vineyards
Description:
From the crossroads at Podmyč the service road continued to the east. At the village Podmyč there is a former Border Guard building, now used by the Administration of the National park Podyjí. The road leading to the house bypasses it and leads directly to the state border. The road then continues on the north side of the U jejkala pond, behind which it enters the Podyjí NP. It leads circa 3 km to the east, then it turns to the north (nearby, at the border, there is a beech tree, on which the Border Guards used to engrave, how much time it is left until they can leave the army) and through a steep downward slope it reaches the Dyje river. Before this slope there is a loop for turning of the Border Guard vehicles, because the slope is too steep for cars.
After crossing the river the service road continued for another 500 m along its bank and then rose steeply again out of the Dyje canyon. From there it went towards Čížov. This section is closed for cyclists. On the rim of Čížov there is a former troop house, now used by the NP Podyjí administration. In this section you can see a well preserved stretch of the service road with the wired fence and a watch-tower (called "špak”). The road continues to Lukov and Nová Ves, which it bypasses from the south. Nearby, at the border, there used to be Faltýsek’s mill, which was destroyed after 1945, when the border zone was set up. Circa one kilometre to the south there is the ruin of the castle Nový hrádek. Then the road enters the woods of NP Podyjí again and after three km it descends again to the Dyje river, crosses it and continues to Hranice.
The service road crosses Dyje in the place called Devět mlýnů (Neunmühlen). As the name suggests, before the border zone was established, there were 9 mills within a three km stretch. The mills were destroyed in 1949 by the Russian Army and only one has survived – Novohrádecký mill. Its owner lived there until his death and the mill only gradually decayed. The Novohrádecký mill has still its wells – but they are covered and are not visible! This area is in the 1st zone of the NP and is not open to public. Before Hnanice there is another Border Guard troop house, now used by the Border Police. In the wood west of Hnanice we can easily cross the border to Austria. Nearby there is the border crossing Hnanice - Mitterretzbach/Heiliger Stein and next to it we can find a historic mile stone. The service road then continued along the vineyard at Šatov, bypassed it and behind the village it crosses the railway track to the railway border crossing Znojmo/Retz.
From there the service road continues parallel to the border through a tree-less landscape to the border crossing Hatě/Kleinhaugsdorf. There it is interrupted with a large shopping mall built in a duty-free zone. Also the road among the vineyards between Unterretzbach and Mitterretzbach documents, how the times have changed. When going along the road, you continuously cross the border to one or the other side. The road zig-zags among the border guard stones as if it was not a strongly guarded area, but only a border between two districts. The service road then continues among the vineyards to Jaroslavice and on the way it passes small-size natural reserves Laplberk, Mandloňová mez and Terasy u Ječmeniště, situated in mid the way just next to the state border.
There used to be the village Ječmeniště (Gerstenfeld), which ceased to exist, when the border zone was established. There is also the once troop house. The service road leads among fields, bypasses Jaroslavice from the south and goes to the east towards Hevlín. In the section between the state border and Hevlín it crosses the railway track, which connected Brno and Vienna from 1870 and was closed in 1945. The track ends in Hevlín now and the rest of the track on the Czech side is still waiting to be repaired. The section from Laa an der Thaya to the Czech border is already repaired and according to the latest news, the traffic could resume in the next year.
After Hevlín the service road turns to the north and goes along the Dyje river up to the natural reserve Trávní dvůr. There is a well preserved remains of the Dyje meadow with dead branches, small water areas, lowland meadows and characteristic vegetation. It is an important locality with many unique waterfowl, amphibians and insects. At the village Jevišovka there was a wooden bridge over Dyje, but in 2006 it was pulled down (either it was destroyed by the flood or it was removed as a prevention before it). A new bridge is being built instead. The service road turns to the south and bypasses Nový Přerov, where a new border crossing Nový Přerov- Alt Prerau was opened in May 2006. From there the service road goes to Dobré Pole, behind which it went along the railway to Mikulov.
Just before Mikulov the service road enters the Natural Reserve CHKO Pálava. The cycling path No. 4 and 41 leads along the service road there.