The Painted Cellar of the Satov Vineyard
Wine, art, and history aficionados unite! The Painted Cellar of Satov, one of the region's most prolific vineyards, awaits. But this isn't an ordinary tour of a vineyard or just a historic place -- it's both.
The town of Satov lies just before the Austrian border, about 10km (6 miles) south of Znojmo. So close is Satov to the border that it was once part of Austria. The town and its surrounding vineyards have long produced some of the country's finest Moravian wines. The excellent soil conditions and Continental climate make it perfectly suited for grapes.
You'll find several cellars here, and during late autumn Moravian hospitality opens the doors to just about anyone who knocks. Few, however, knock on the door of Josef Kucera, who can give a different sort of tour. Mr. Kucera, who once patrolled the border to ensure that the vices of capitalism didn't breach the country, will happily lead you down a hidden path for about half a mile to a small, unassuming house. Try to keep up, because Kucera sometimes gets so excited about showing newcomers the cellar that he literally talks and walks a mile a minute!
The house's cellar was most likely carved out in the late 19th century for reasons still a mystery today, but it took on its current form when a one-armed man named Max Appeltauer took to the tunnels and began his work there in 1934. As you enter the cellar and descend about 18m (59 ft.), a musty odor envelops you and you wonder how Appeltauer could have spent so much time here. But as you look around the 20m (66-ft.) tunnel, you'll be thankful he did. Not an artist by trade, Appeltauer set to carving and then painting into the sandstone walls an eclectic set of scenes portraying everything from Prague Castle to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as the Satov coat of arms. Running off the main tunnel are five smaller rooms, each depicting a separate theme and carved and painted in painstaking detail.
It's almost as though Appeltauer was expecting to escape one day to his residence inside the cellar, celebrating his departure from life aboveground. Indeed, celebrating had already taken place inside the dark cellar, as the inscription VÍNO, ZENY A ZPEV, ZAHLADÍ VESKERY HNEV ("Wine, women, and song will remove all anger") indicates. Kucera will tell you that the cellar was at one time a popular place, where people gathered after Mass, girlfriends and all. Wives searching for their husbands would often enter, sending girlfriends scurrying into the subcellar. Local lore has it that Hitler visited the cellar when inspecting the military bunkers set up to defend his southern flank.
Appeltauer left the cellar for good in 1968 and died 4 years later, never realizing his next dream -- to paint farther into the cellar. Some cans of paint and a few jars still sit idly by at the point where he stopped, untouched after 36 years of waiting for his return.
To get to Satov by car, take Highway 59 out of Znojmo to the south and turn right at the sign for Satov. Buses and trains also run to the village from Znojmo on a regular basis.
Call tel. 721-754-548 (www.znovin.cz) to book your visit ahead. Admission 25Kc ($1.20/60p).
