Trebic and Lednice

Our first stop after leaving Slavonice (which, frankly, I hated to do - it's a real sleeper, a wonderful place too few tourists see, I suspect) was Trebic, with two UNESCO World Heritage sites. One of these is an old Jewish ghetto, the only Jewish monument outside of Israel on the World Heritage list. Nearly 1500 Jews lived there in 1890, but by the 1930s that number had shrunk to 300, all of which were deported to Nazi concentration camps. Only ten returned after the war, so none of what you see serves its original purpose or is owned by Jews. It has a lot of charm, but restoration is still underway; the town sits on the River Jihlava:

Although there was a Jewish community since at least 1338, this synagogue was built in 1837.

 Ghetto pavement mosaic

Model of ghetto inside the synagogue, now a museum

Note the scripture on the walls, along with other decoration

The former living quarters of the rabbi and his family are now sort of a house museum of the times:

Our next stop was Lednice, another UNESCO World Heritage site:

Lednice Palace is its 17th-century Renaissance crown jewel. The House of Liechtenstein owned the area since the 13th century, and the gardens are very English. The Palace itself was rebuilt in the mid-1800s in the Neo-Gothic style:

Fun exterior details:

The Riding Hall

The interior is just dazzling with its carved woodwork, ornate plasterwork, silk wallcoverings, and windows with lovely views - the entry hall is designed to impress and really does so:

And the rest isn't so shabby, either...

And then there's the conservatory - makes you just want to swoon...

Lots of nuclear power in these parts: