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One of the most interesting collections of Neoclassical and Romantic buildings can be found situated along the Thaya on the border between Austria and Moravia. Along the seven-kilometer avenue which connected their residences at Feldsberg (Valtice) and Eisgrub (Lednice), the princes of Liechtenstein laid out a landscape garden on the English model with buildings from a variety of different architectural styles. From the 13th century to 1945 both locations were inextricably linked to the House of Liechtenstein, and in the 16th century Feldsberg became the main seat of the princes, along with their summer residence at Eisgrub. It was towards the end of the 18th century that Prince Johann Josef I began to regulate the countryside, laying out the gigantic landscape garden that still exists today.
The princes' architects, Joseph Hardtmuth, Joseph Kornhäusel and Franz Engel created an architecture of follies, pavilions, miniature palaces and all the other accoutrements of an English garden in Feldsberg and Eisgrub.
The Reistenberg colonnade is a variation on the colonnade theme. It was begun in 1812 by Hardtmuth and completed by his successor Joseph Kornhäusel, after Hardtmuth retired from royal service. The attic extends for four intercolumniations at both sides of the triumphal arch, the outermost supports of the structure featuring the same design as the arch itself. They contain staircases leading up to the terrace on top of the attic.
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