Visiting The Creepy Znojmo Catacombs

Znojmo is not a big city but it’s one that’s home to a set of unique tours, on which visitors will discover an intriguing underground tunnel system.

The Znojmo Catacombs are a fantastic labyrinth of underground passageways.

However, they are not actually catacombs and no people are actually buried there. The Znojmo Catacombs were developed for defensive purposes to defend the city from attack.

They date back to the 1300s and were expanded over the centuries by connecting various cellars beneath buildings with each other.

The end result was houses and palaces in the city connected with an elaborate labyrinth. Some of the tunnels lead under old fortifications and even out of the city – so that inhabitants would have an escape in case the city would have fallen or to get out of the city and forage for food in times of siege.

The caverns were well constructed and they have plenty of airshafts. The cellars had fireplaces that were connected to chimneys of houses on the surface. The smoke from the tunnels would rise through the chimneys of the houses and hide the tunnels beneath.

Inside the tunnels, water wells were built so that the inhabitants could survive for a long time. Additionally, various defensive measures were incorporated into their design in case the tunnels were discovered. Some of the defensive measures included slippery slides that would drop invades into deep wells that they couldn’t get out of without ladders.

The tunnels were a part of the city’s fort system and there are no plans of the tunnels in the city’s archives. They are extremely intricate and run in both horizontal and vertical directions.

As time wore on, the caverns found new uses – like being used for storage (particularly wine).

The Catacombs Today

Today the catacombs are a tourist attraction and some of the cellars are open to the public.

The warren of underground corridors under Znojmo is considered to be one of the largest in Central Europe and extends for around 27 kilometers. The main visitor tour is around 800 meters and runs from Slepičí trh and ends in the Obroková street.

 

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Un post condiviso da Petra Eckeltová (@p.ecke)

 

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Un post condiviso da Petra Eckeltová (@p.ecke)