Colonnade on Reisten, Gloriette in Valtice, Czech Republic

The Colonnade on Reisten is a neoclassical structure on Homole Hill, about 1.6 km southwest of Valtice. Its rectangular plan has 24 Corinthian columns, a central triumphal-arch attic, and a roof terrace reached by a spiral staircase in an end pier. The photograph shows ten columns with a round arch and a plaque inscribed "DER K.K. HANDEL UND UNIVERSITÄTSGERICHT DER ERZHERZOGLICHEN HAUPTSTADT WIEN".

Prince Johann I Joseph of Liechtenstein had the colonnade begun in 1810 by Joseph Hardtmuth as a memorial to his father Franz Josef I and his brothers Alois I and Philipp Josef, all already dead. After a pause in 1813 Joseph Kornhäusel continued it, and Joseph Klieber's workshop finished the sculptural decoration by 1823. From 1945 to 1989 border troops used it as an observation post.

The colonnade sits within a vast estate landscape that nobility created as a place for leisure and enjoying nature during the 19th century. It shows how wealthy families of that era marked their lands with structures designed for walking and contemplation.

The colonnade is reached from Valtice by the red hiking trail or the cycle path, about 1.6 km southwest; the Valtice nature trail also passes through it. A free dirt car park lies roughly 100 m below the building. The roof terrace is reached by a spiral staircase in the corner pier, and the site is open to the public from May to September.

The colonnade was not modelled on Schönbrunn's Gloriette, as is often repeated, but draws on architectural motifs from pre-revolutionary France. Four toga statues on the structure depict the builder, Prince Johann I Joseph, his father Franz Josef I, and his brothers Alois I and Philipp Josef, the last three already dead when it was built.