Podyjí: What To See, Do And Explore In The Czech Republic's Smallest National Park

Some national parks announce themselves with dramatic peaks and vast wilderness. Podyjí does neither. At around 100 sq km, it is Czechia's smallest national park, but its compact scale hides an unusually rich landscape. With a deeply cut river valley and wooded slopes, it offers meadows, vineyards, orchards and rocky outcrops stretching along the Dyje River on the Austrian border. Across the frontier, the same river valley continues into Austria’s Thayatal National Park.

Its character is partly a consequence of history. During the years of the Iron Curtain, the barrier that divided Europe into two separate parts, much of this borderland was inaccessible, helping preserve the valley from intensive development. Today, Podyjí is best experienced slowly, on foot or by bicycle, following trails that reveal the landscape rather than cutting through it. More than 76 km of marked hiking trails cross the park.

Follow The Dyje Through Forest And Rock

The Dyje River, known as the Thaya in German, is the park’s defining feature. It twists through a narrow valley, creating a landscape of wooded ravines, exposed rock walls and river meanders. One of the best ways to understand Podyjí is to hike between its viewpoints rather than treating them as isolated photo stops.

The Hardegg Viewpoint, perched on a roughly 90-metre-high rocky outcrop, looks across the valley towards the Austrian town of Hardegg and its castle. Another rewarding stop is Sealsfieldův kámen (Sealsfield Stone), a large rock formation overlooking the Dyje valley. The route from Znojmo towards Šobes links several of these viewpoints and can be explored on foot or by bicycle.

For a longer excursion, the route from Čížov to the ruins of Nový Hrádek passes through some of Podyjí’s characteristic terrain before opening onto views of the river valley. Nový Hrádek, or New Castle, is also an atmospheric place to look for bats, while the park’s meadows and woodland support butterflies, orchids and other thermophilous species. The black stork is among the park’s emblematic birds.

Šobes Is Where Wine Meets The Wild

Podyjí’s relationship with wine is not an afterthought to its natural landscape. Šobes Vineyard sits on a sunny, south-facing slope within a meander of the Dyje, where its sheltered position and rocky terrain have supported vines for generations. It is regarded by Czech tourism authorities as one of Europe’s notable vineyard sites. The vineyard lies along a walking and cycling route connecting the park with Znojmo. The broader Znojmo wine region is particularly associated with aromatic white varieties such as Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Welschriesling.

The Znojmo–Šobes route can also be combined with the former Gruben Mill, Havraníky and its Old Vineyard wine trail before returning towards Znojmo. For cyclists, this is one of the more distinctive ways to experience the region: vineyard roads, forest paths and river scenery form part of the same itinerary.

Where The Forest Still Remembers The Iron Curtain

The village of Čížov is one of the principal access points to Podyjí and houses a visitors’ centre. It is also a place where the park’s environmental and political history becomes tangible. It contains the only preserved original section of the Iron Curtain in the country, with remnants including preserved border fortifications. The landscape that is now a destination for hiking and cycling was once a heavily controlled frontier.

From Čížov, routes lead towards Hardegg and the Czech-Austrian border. One contemporary cross-border trail covers about 18 km through both Podyjí and Austria’s Thayatal National Park, with the Hardegg viewpoint and Znojmo among its highlights.

From River Valley To Medieval Streets

For most visitors, Znojmo is the natural gateway to Podyjí. The historic Moravian town brings together the region’s other defining threads: medieval architecture, wine and the Dyje valley. Its centre retains medieval walls, churches and winding lanes, while the Romanesque Rotunda of St Catherine dates to the mid-11th century. Below the streets lie another layer of the city: a roughly 30-km underground labyrinth extending beneath much of the historic centre. Wine remains equally central, with Louka Monastery, historic cellars and local wine trails providing a cultural counterpoint to the national park.

Podyjí’s appeal ultimately lies in this unusual compression of experiences. Within a relatively small landscape, a river valley, protected woodland, border history, medieval towns and working vineyards coexist. It may be Czechia’s smallest national park, but there is little that feels small about the story it contains.

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