The name of Moravia is taken from the river of the same name, which is the region's main waterway. Its main supplier is the Dyje River, the upper segment of which above the Vranov dam flows through canyons and creates beautiful landscapes. On a steep hill above Vranov nad Dyji, the former garrison city guarding Moravia. Close by, the artificial Vranov lake is a summer recreational centre offering possibilities of many water sports, such as yachting, windsurfing, and fishing.

On the bank of a reservoir formed by the Vranov dam 2 km down the river there lies a village, called Vranov nad Dyji. It's a small village of less than a thousand residents some twenty kilometers to the west of Znojmo. The village is dominated by the castle erected on a sharp cliff above it, a former border fortress mentioned in chronicles as far back as the beginning of the 12^th century. However, after a fire in 1665, the castle was converted into a magnificent Baroque chateau by the Viennese architect Fischer von Erlich. The chateau's highlights include the Hall of Ancestors, with fantastic frescoes depicting the imaginary exploits of the family that commissioned the work, and a chapel with two steeples outside.