1 Chotěbuz Archaeology ParkThe Slavs built their fortified settlement on the hill above the village of Chotěbuz as early as the eighth century. And thanks to the rich archaeological finds in this area, a replica of the settlement was created, teaching visitors how its original inhabitants lived in an interactive way.

2 Saint Methodius Uplands, Uherské HradištěThe archaeological site of Sady, where explorations revealed the remains of an unfortified settlement of an ecclesiastical and power character. The foundations of a stone church dating back to the beginning of the ninth century with a ground plan of a Greek cross have been uncovered; the complex also included craft workshops, wells and other structures. Until the 13th century, the site served as a burial ground and the tomb of a prominent prince has been discovered there.

3 Archaeological Site in Špitálky, Staré MěstoThe location where the foundations of a Great Moravian church were discovered in 1949. When gravel was being excavated on the right bank of a dead arm of the River Morava, several skeleton graves and the entire southern half of the temple

foundations were excavated. The salvage research revealed another 41 skeleton graves with rich finds, such as spurs, iron knives, silver and gold earrings, coffin fittings and a circular plaque with the sculpted relief of a rider with a falcon.

4 Great Moravia Memorial, Staré MěstoThe Great Moravia Memorial in Staré Město at “Na Valách” was built above the foundations of a cemetery church from the ninth century, discovered by the archaeologist Vilém Hrubý in 1949. The church building was surrounded by

an extensive burial ground. Members of the Great Moravian nobility with their weapons and jewellery were buried there, as were poor people, farmers and craftsmen.

5 Archaeological Open-Air Museum and Church of St. John the Baptist, ModráThe Great Moravian settlement of the Middle

Pomoraví is a significant object illustrating one of the most important eras of Czech history. The open-air museum is alive with everyday life, teaching performances, programmes, experimental melting of metals, the production of ceramics, agricultural production and ongoing archaeological research. In the summer, there is the large Veligrad historical festival – a battle for the fortified settlement. During the weekend, visitors can go back to the Great Moravian times and try the crafts and life of the period. Above the complex, there is a small stone church of St. John, a hypothetical replica of the ninth-century church. This copy was built in 1999 and 2000, and is located in close proximity to the foundations of the church, which are being archaeologically examined.

6 Fortified Settlement of St. Clement, OsvětimanyFortified Settlement located near the former merchant road was built in the middle of the ninth century. Today, there are the foundations of the old church, the remains of several other buildings and the wooden chapel of St. Clement, built in 1863 to commemorate the one-thousand-year anniversary of the arrival of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.

7 Slavic Archaeology Centre, Uherské HradištěThe lives of the two Thessalonian brothers and their subsequent continuation of the story related to the creation of the “Holy Church of Moravia” during the times of Archbishop Methodius, as well as the presentation of the situation in Moravia in the period before the arrival of the Byzantine missionaries to the

court of Prince Rostislav – these are the topics covered by the exhibition entitled Sts. Cyril and Methodius and the Beginnings of Christianity in Moravia.

8 Slavic Fortified Settlement in MikulčiceA unique archaeological site with the foundations of a basilica and baptistery. An important site of the

beginnings of statehood, and the place where Sts. Cyril and Methodius worked. Foundations of the Prince’s palace, 12 stone churches and burial grounds with 2,500 graves. A site of ancient history, pilgrimages and meetings of Church authorities. The Slavic settlement in Mikulčice regularly publishes and updates its year-long programme, including its website.

9 Archaeological Monument Reserve, Pohansko near BřeclavThe lowland Great Moravian settlement of Pohansko with a museum. On the site, which has already been explored by archaeologists, a grand palace, church, burial ground, rotunda, houses, buildings with stone fireplaces and earth houses have been discovered. The area of the settlement was surrounded by a massive wall, still visible today.

10 Fortified Settlement of St. Hippolytus and Museum of Great Moravia, Znojmo The elevated fortified settlement stood in a very convenient location above the River Thaya. During the exploration, the remains of two churches, extensive burial grounds and unique finds from Great Moravia were discovered there. The museum was founded in 2013 and is based in the Monastery of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star.

11 Staré Zámky Fortified Settlement, Brno LíšeňThe old Slavic fortified settlement is situated above the picturesque valley of the River Říčka. You can reach it on foot from the Líšeň Cemetery. The location is freely accessible to the public in the form of a hiking trail. You can combine a visit to the fortification settlement with a walk and swimming in the Marian Valley.

12 NitraThe dominant feature of the city is Nitra Castle. As early as the beginning of the ninth century, Nitra was the centre of Pribina’s princedom, and from 833 the centre of the eastern

part of the Great Moravian Empire and the seat of Prince Svatopluk. In 880, Pope John VIII established the first bishopric in Central and Eastern Europe there, and ordained Bishop Viching. In the period from the ninth to the 11th century, Nitra was among the largest settlement agglomerations in Central Europe. The Bishop’s Palace has remained the seat of the Bishop of Nitra to this day. The Diocesan Museum of the Nitra Bishopric houses facsimiles of important historical documents and precious liturgical objects. In the courtyard of the castle, there is the Vazul Tower, the castle well, a Gothic moat with a summer amphitheatre and a statue of Pope John Paul II. The observation terrace offers a beautiful view of the present-day Nitra.

13 Martin Hill, NitraIn the area of the former Great Moravian castle, there are foundations of the Church of St. Martin dating back to the ninth century. An exhibition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Nitra on the life of the Slavs in the

era of Great Moravia is installed in the Archaeological Open-Air Museum.

14 BojnáA village with the oldest Christian monuments in Slovakia. In the village, archaeologists discovered a system of elevated fortified settlements dating back to the 9th century

(Walls I-III), which constituted a major economic and political centre of the Nitra Princedom and Great Moravia. A collection of unique gilded embossed plaques, probably originating from a portable altar, as the first evidence of the use of scripture by the Central European Slavs, as well as the oldest bronze bells found on the territory of Slovakia, were discovered in the settlement. In addition, hundreds of metal, mainly iron, objects (more than 1,000 iron grzywnas, tools, household items, weapons, and equipment) were found there. Gilded or gold and silver plated articles such as belt fittings, harnesses and sword sheaths constitute proof of the presence of members of the upper class and their military entourage. There is an Archaeological Museum of Great Moravia in the village.

15 Nitra Museum, NitraIt covers the rich history of the city associated with the territory of Slovakia, from primeval ages to the present. The archaeological treasures of the museum

also include beautiful jewels and other rare finds from the era of the Great Moravian Empire. Every year, the museum organises scientific conferences dedicated to the legacy of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and the history of Great Moravia.

16 Slovak Agricultural Museum, NitraIt is part of the Agrokomplex National Exhibition Centre. The exhibition documenting the development of agriculture in Slovakia pays special attention to the Great Moravian era.

17 Church of St. Margaret of Antioch, KopčanyIt is considered the oldest church in Slovakia. The first mention of it comes from 1392, and the oldest phase of its construction

dates back to the ninth century. It originated as part of the Great Moravian Valy fortress in Mikulčice.

18 Fortified Settlement, Ducové-KostolecIn the younger Bronze Age, a significant fortress was built on the Kostolec terrace. Its fortification system has been preserved to this day. On 5 July 1990, the name day of Sts. Cyril and St. Methodius, the first annual National Pilgrimage to Ducové-Kostolec took place. Pilgrimages have been held there regularly ever since.

19 Trenčín CastleA county castle, built on the site of a presumed Slavic fortress. The fortress was located at the highest point of the castle rock. The castle rotunda, proof

of the establishment of Christianity at a place inhabited by the power elite, dates back to the 10th-11th centuries. The castle was expanded into its present form in the 17th century.

Route of Sts. Cyril and Methodius is an international network of partners of the European Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius Association, which seeks to promote and preserve the unique cultural heritage based on the mission of Cyril and Methodius in the early Middle Ages.Its activities promote the living legacy of Cyril and Methodius and connect the pilgrimage site of Velehrad, the centre of Western and Eastern European dialogue, with other important sites connected with the traditions of Cyril and Methodius and Great Moravia.

20 Skalka nad Váhom, ChochelA polycultural location, with the foundations of a sacral building from the 9th-10th centuries and a more recent medieval cemetery from the 12th-13th centuries. In the mid-1990s, several Slavic skeleton graves dating back to the 9th-10th centuries were excavated there. Findings from the cemetery are now located at the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín.

21 PobedimA major lowland Slavic fortress in the floodplain of the River Váh in the location of Hradištia. Any visible walls have been destroyed by agricultural work. Significant finds include the finds of grzywnas – the Great Moravian means of payment.

22 BeckovAn important castle, built on the site of a Slavic settlement. The fortified settlement dating back to the second half of the ninth century covered the whole area of the more recent

medieval castle. Given its strategic location, it is assumed that the castle had a primarily guarding function.

23 Sverepec – Visolaje – Beluša, Slavic burial mounds. Others in Veľké Hoste – Diviaky nad Nitricou, Brezolupy

24 Dolná Mariková, ŠimunkyAn elevated refugium (a place where the population could concentrate in dangerous times – a “shelter”) at an unusual place in the Mariková Valley. In 2016, the research of the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín resulted in spectacular finds of metal that are stored in the museum today.

25 Pružina, MesciskáAn elevated fortress and the place where a significant deposit of iron objects from the second half of the ninth century was found.

26 Mestský Háj and Marian Hill, PrievidzaSlavic settlement finds, proof of Slavic settlement.

27 Hradec (near Prievidza)Slavic fortified settlement; a small gold-plated bronze fitting, probably made somewhere near Salzburg, was found there.

Wandering along the path of the Great Moravian tradition

We are speaking about Great Moravia, the first medieval state (833-906/907 AD) on the territory of today’s Czech Republic and Slovakia. The territorial and cultural expansion of the empire across the greater part of Central Europe during the reign of Prince Svatopluk is one of the most famous eras of our shared history. Let us take a journey through space and time in places that are connected with Great Moravian princes historically and in legends, and find European cultural roots. We are honoured to introduce to you the most interesting places from the Moravian-Slovak border, the centre of the former Great Moravian Empire.

„Although it existed for less than 70 years, it left us the most valuable treasures“

European Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius, I.A.L.E. J. A. Bati 5520, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic, phone: +420 577 043 907 info@cyril-methodius.eu, www.cyril-methodius.eu

Church of St. John the Baptist, Modrá

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Texts written by: European Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius and its membersPrepared and printed by: m-ARK Marketing a reklama s.r.o.Maps: © Kartografie PRAHA, a.s.Photography: the archive of the European Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius and its members, m-ARK

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Events with Great Moravian themes: Welcoming spring with the burning of Death Modrá, March

Spring in the Rastic Town of Moravia Mikulčice, May

Night with Methodius Uherské Hradiště, June

Night of Sun and Fire Modrá, June

Summer in the Rastic Town of Moravia Mikulčice, July

Pribinova Nitrawa Nitra, July

Wanderings of Cyril and Methodius Nitra, July

Festival of Cyril and Methodius Bojná, July

Veligrad – fight for the fortified settlement Modrá, August

The Day of Honey and Mead Modrá, July

Autumn in the Rastic Town of Moravia Mikulčice, September

Winter in the Rastic Town of MoraviaMikulčice, November, December

10 kilometres to the cultural roots of the SlavsCzech Republic: Uherské Hradiště – Staré Město – Modrá – Velehrad Slovak Republic: Nitra-Dražovce – Zobor Monastery – Martin Hill – Nitra Castle. For further routes see www.cyril-methodius.eu.

Walking

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CZECH REPUBLIC