In Mikulčice, there is a newly renovated pavilion with an exhibition about Great Moravia

Mikulčice (Hodonín Region) - Today, workers at the local historical exhibition in Mikulčice, which commemorates the Great Moravian fortification of Valy, opened the reconstructed first pavilion of this complex. It includes a newly constructed 30-meter-high lookout tower offering views of the remnants of Valy, said exhibition staff member Michaela Zálešáková to the Czech News Agency.
    The reconstruction of the pavilion cost 30 million crowns. The main investor was the South Moravian Region, with the majority of the costs covered by the EU. So far, the site has been visited by approximately 20,000 tourists annually. The management of this memorial expects that their number will double.
    The first pavilion has facilities for tourists, and a new exhibition about Great Moravia will be created there this year; it also contains a lecture hall and a gallery. The main attraction is the lookout tower. At 18 and 24 meters, there are panels showing how the fortification of Valy once looked.
    According to archaeologists, it could be the legendary main Great Moravian city of Veligrad, which has yet to be discovered. Only a 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 site as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The proposal has been submitted twice but was withdrawn each time because it was not sufficiently developed, according to scientists.
    Seven years ago, archaeologists reconstructed the second pavilion of the memorial located above the excavations. It reminds us that over 60 years of research, scientists found not only building foundations but also jewelry at Valy.
    The foundations of the churches and the palace were raised by conservationists two years ago with stone up to about one meter in height. There are new panels in the terrain showing visitors what these buildings once looked like.
    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 fire years ago.
    In the future, there are considerations for a footbridge over the nearby Morava River that would connect Valy and the Slovak Kopčany, where the Great Moravian church of St. Margaret of Antioch stands.