Památník Velké Moravy
Museum · Czechia
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In 1949 Vilém Hrubý uncovered here the foundations of the first stone building proven to date from Great Moravia, the 9th-century Slavic empire linked to Cyril and Methodius. The memorial hall of 1959–1960 stands directly over them, and excavations around the church have yielded more than 2,000 graves, the largest known Great Moravian burial ground.
The newer Cyrilometodějské centrum wing walks you through the period around a fictional inhabitant named Mojslav, about twenty life-size figures following him from life on the surrounding hillforts through to his own burial in this same cemetery. The church and its graveyard turn out to be only one piece of a much bigger settlement. Archaeologists have traced the foundations of four separate Great Moravian churches with their own cemeteries across Staré Město. Nearby craft workshops, for pottery and other goods, show that the jewelry and weapons buried with the dead were made locally rather than imported, evidence of a settlement doing well for itself. Excavation here has been running for more than a century and still is not finished: hundreds more graves are known to lie either destroyed by later building work or still waiting to be dug.
Right on the flat Baťa Canal riverside cycle route through Staré Město, an easy stop without leaving the path.
What you see
Inside, the church itself has not been rebuilt: what is on display is the dig exactly as archaeologists left it, the ninth-century foundation trenches traced into the ground where the stone walls once stood, with graves still grouped in and around that outline.
Practical
Open daily 9:00-12:00 and 12:30-17:00 year-round, closed only on 6 April, 24-26 December and 1 January. Adult admission is 120 Kč, with reduced rates for children, students and seniors, and the building is fully wheelchair accessible with a lift.
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