In Mikulčice near Hodonín, the renovation of the exhibition on Great Moravia has been completed

Mikulčice (Hodonín Region) - The reconstruction of the exhibition about the history of the fortification Valy in Mikulčice, which was one of the main centers of Great Moravia, has been completed. The staff of the memorial is moving into the reconstructed first pavilion of the complex, which also includes a new thirty-meter lookout tower. The operation will start on Tuesday. František Synek, the head of the exhibition, told ČTK today.
    The reconstruction of the pavilion cost 30 million crowns. The main investor was the South Moravian Region, with most of the costs covered by the EU. Until now, the area has been visited by about 20,000 tourists annually. The management of this memorial expects their number to double.
    According to archaeologists, Valy could have been the legendary main city of Great Moravia, Veligrad, which has not yet been discovered. Only green space with the foundations of 12 churches and a princely palace remains from the fortification. The Czech Republic is considering a proposal to list this area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The proposal has been submitted twice already but has always been withdrawn because, according to scientists, it was not sufficiently elaborated.
    The first pavilion contains facilities for tourists; a new exhibition about Great Moravia will be created there this year, and it includes a lecture hall and a gallery. Visitors will be able to climb the lookout tower and see the fortification from above. At 18 and 24 meters, panels illustrate what this center of Great Moravia once looked like.
    Seven years ago, archaeologists reconstructed the second pavilion of the memorial located above the excavations. It reminds that, over 60 years of research at Valy, scientists found not only the foundations of buildings but also jewelry.
    The foundations of the churches and palace were rebuilt by heritage conservationists two years ago with stones up to about one meter high. There are now new panels on-site showing visitors how these buildings once appeared.
    The work on the restoration of the second pavilion cost four million crowns. The construction of a new archaeological base, which opened in September 2013, cost one hundred million. The original was destroyed by a fire years ago.
    In the future, there are plans to create a footbridge across the nearby Morava River that would connect Valy and the Slovak Kopčany, where the Great Moravian church of Saint Margaret of Antioch stands. "The project is ready, and we are already looking for European grants to finance the construction of the footbridge," Synek added.