Vrbovec – Wine, History and Wetland

Vrbovec combines winegrowing, a rich local history and a remarkable wetland landscape within a compact thematic area. Its various facets are suitable for different day plans: on one day, winegrowing culture may take centre stage, while on another, a short walk to a chapel may be the focus.

Experience winegrowing: trail and cellar lane

The Hroznové kozy wine trail is 5 km long and gives your stay a clear winegrowing focus. Another distinctive feature is the Sklepní ulička in Vrbovec: this is a row of around 260 wine cellars along the road towards Znojmo, about 1 km from the village.

The events calendar is also closely linked to this heritage. Odemykání naučné stezky Hroznové kozy takes place every year in spring and includes a wine tasting as well as carrying the billy goat out into the vineyard. At Vrbovecké vinobraní 2025, the end of the grape harvest was celebrated on the last Saturday in October – in the U kapličky vineyard, in the Sklepní ulička and in open cellars. This date is in the past and does not automatically describe a future edition.

Chapels and a church with their own history

One of the more recent landmarks is the Chapel of Saint Bartholomew, built in 2022. A short walk outside Vrbovec leads to it. In its immediate surroundings, a festival takes place in the second half of August, around the feast day of Saint Bartholomew. The Zarážení hory is also part of the festivities.

The Church of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, by contrast, dates back to an old Romanesque predecessor. After a fire in 1727, it was rebuilt from 1747 onwards and consecrated on 27 June 1767. Among the sacred sites, the time span therefore extends from the chapel built in 2022 to the church with its Romanesque predecessor, reconstruction from 1747 and consecration in 1767. Its furnishings include three bells from the 17th and 18th centuries; the oldest dates from 1626. An additional historical trace leads to the Chapel of Panny Maria Pomocné in Ječmeniště, in the cadastral territory of Vrbovec. It is the last surviving monument of a former winegrowing village in the South Moravian border region.

Wetland and fire-bellied toad

With Vrbovecký rybník, Vrbovec also has a natural site that reaches well beyond winegrowing. The pond is the most important wetland in the Znojmo area and at the same time a regionally and supra-regionally significant locality for the fire-bellied toad. Alongside the cellar lane, vineyard and sacred buildings, this also provides an opportunity to explore a natural-history theme. When choosing your accommodation, you can therefore consider Vrbovec as a destination for a stay centred on culture, wine tradition and landscape.

Other destinations for your research include Trstěnice, Vranov nad Dyjí, Hnanice, Jezeřany-Maršovice, Jevisovice, Jiřice U Miroslavi, Hostěradice and Vracovice.

For the overarching travel overview: Okres Znojmo.