The archaeological open-air museum in Modra – Great Moravian settlement of the Morava river middle basin is situated near Uherske Hradistě on the road running from Stare Mesto to Velehrad. It is a significant place giving us a vivid picture of one of the most important periods of our national history. The open-air museum lives its everyday life, with educational performances, programs, trial melting of metal, production of ceramics, agricultural production as well as continual archaeological research.
The museum was planned by the Museum of Moravian Slovakia in Uherské Hradiště together with the Archaeological Institute of the Moravian Museum in Brno.It depicts a 9th century Great Moravian Slavic settlement and is based on nearby excavations in the Middle Pomoraví area.
The settlement is divided into functional units and areas. Right after the entrance gate, there is a settlement showing daily life. Moving further in, one comes to an area of power and a cult area, which is isolated from the rest. Finally, one arrives at a craft area with an information centre.
The fortification show different solutions, from a double palisade with towers down to a woven fence enclosing the whole settlement. There are residential houses as well as some farmstead like purpose built settings. Some grubenhauser are part of this as well as storage pits, a bakery house et cetera. Diiferent types of houses are used to depict differences in social situation of the users. The houses are furnished, for example with equipment for hunting and fishing. In the end, there will be about 13 houses or structures in this area.
A long stone and mortar building forms the nucleus of the power area. It is meant to be connected with the religious building and surrounded by the farmstead and production buildings.
The cult area is still in planning. Here, an early medieval church has been excavated, not far from its follower up which is still standing. The location of the crafting area is seriously thought through: here, health and safety risks dictate the structure when open fire is used for metalworking or pottery firing. The Crafting Area will be divided into two connected areas. In the first one you will find a metallurgical oven, an iron maker’s oven and a potter’s oven. In the second part of the crafting area you will find stable buildings – workshops. There will be a smithy, an iron and jewel maker’s workshop and a potter’s workshop. There will also be one last building, the so-called joint workshop of bone, antler and wood processors.
The archaeological open-air museum in Modra – learn more about our long-ago history.
