Mikulčice - Great Moravian fortified settlement

At the entrance to the complex there is a large parking lot where you can leave your vehicle for free. Next door is a modern information center with a small exhibition and exhibition hall. Together with the information center, a 30-meter-high iron lookout tower was built, which offers a view of the historic area of the Old Slavonic fort.

In the area you can see the foundations of twelve discovered buildings (churches and the prince's palace) dating from the 8th and 9th centuries. Archaeological excavations revealed the courts of nobles, a number of street-grouped houses and settlements of the common people. Over 2,500 graves were discovered in burial grounds around churches and in the field, which provided a rich inventory of various objects, such as buttons, swords, spurs, buckles and crosses.

It is the only multi-nave sacral building and the largest Great Moravian church discovered so far (35 × 11 m). An underground stone cistern was discovered near this archbishop's c­hurch, which probably served as a baptistery (baptismal chapel). A burial ground with 550 graves was found around the church, in which masterpieces of Great Moravian arts and crafts were found.

The brick building measuring 26 × 10 m stood on the highest point of the castle – the acropolis. Because it lacks the characteristics of a church building, it is considered a princely palace building. It is assumed that the building had a brick ground floor and a wooden floor. Three noble graves with valuable objects were found near the building.

The Morava River and its branches surrounded the acropolis and the fort and thus formed a natural protection of the fort. Now, thanks to frequent floods and floods, the landscape is leveled to today's valley floodplain with floodplain forests and meadows. Bridges allowed access to the gates of the fort. So far, the remains of three wooden bridges, whose length was 30–50 m and width 3–5th, have been discovered here.

Along the southern rampart, you can bypass part of the fort and get an idea of its considerable extent. Inside the fort, wooden buildings predominated – residential dwellings with steamed or mortar floors and a fireplace or furnace, as well as workshop or farm buildings and larger assembly halls. The buildings were mostly above-ground log cabins, which made this fortified settlement different from most contemporary fortified settlements, where earthworks predominated.

In 863, at the invitation of the Moravian King Rostislav, scholars Brothers Constantine (religious name Cyril) and Methodius came to Moravia. They created the Glagolitic script, founded Slavic literature and the Slavic liturgy. In memory of these founders of the Old Slovak and Old Bulgarian alphabets and literature, a bronze sculpture was placed in the area, donated by representatives of the Bulgarian minority.

A visit to the fortified settlement can be combined with a bicycle trip to the surroundings. There are several pleasant well-marked cycle paths in the area leading in a flat landscape around the Morava River. After the newly built footbridge, you can easily cross the river to Slovakia, where, among other things, the Kopčany archeopark is located.