WE INVITE YOU TO SPRING HIKING ALONG THE CYRIL AND METHODIUS ROUTE FROM KOPČANY TO MIKULČICE
The European Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius invites fans of tourism and cultural heritage to a one-day guided tour along the Cyril and Methodius Route from Kopčany to Mikulčice, following the footsteps of Great Moravia. The event will take place on Sunday 28 April 2024 from 10 am. “Every year we organise several journeys along the Cyril and Methodius trails. There are about 930 km of these trails in the Czech Republic alone and they converge at Velehrad. In Slovakia, it is another 570 km. This year’s hiking and pilgrimage season will start in the Czech-Slovak border area on the Cyril and Methodius Route going from Kopčany to Mikulčice. Some monuments along the trail commemorate the glorious period of Great Moravia. We are drawing attention to our common cultural roots and heritage,” said Lubomír Traub, chairman of the European Cultural Route of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
The trail leading through the flat floodplain landscape near the Morava River connects several unique sights. It starts at the reconstructed 18th century stud farm, where you can see, for example, the former chapel or the representative rooms. It continues to the Church of St. Margaret of Antioch, the only surviving building in Central Europe that remembers the times of Great Moravia. Nearby is the reconstructed Kačenreň with a museum and information centre, a former farmstead. On the Czech side, we will cross the river state border via the modern Great Moravia Footbridge, which was opened in 2019. We will end our hiking through the Mikulčice Meadow Nature Park with a visit to the Slavic Hillfort in Mikulčice and uncover the treasures of the Great Moravian past, which have been the subject of systematic archaeological excavations since the 1950s.
The event is held in cooperation with the following partners: Museum of Záhorie in Skalica – exposition Museum Kopčany, Municipality Kopčany, Trnava Self-Governing Region, Slavic Hillfort in Mikulčice, South Moravian Region, Moravian Slovakia Region.
Please note: Capacity is limited to 50 persons! Registration is required via the event website. Hiking the Cyril and Methodius Route from Kopčany to Mikulčice | Cyril and Methodius Route – Cultural Route of the Council of Europe (cyril-methodius.cz).
Trail map: https://mapy.cz/s/jejuvovepa
Time: 28 April 2024, 10.00 – 16.00
Event schedule:
10.00 – 10.15 Meeting at the IC Kopčany and the start of the hiking: handing out of passports and information about the Cyril and Methodius Route, trails and their signposting (EKSCM), passport stamp.
10.15 – 10.45 Tour of the stud farm (built by F. Š. Lotrinsky, Maria Theresa’s husband in 1745). Visit to a part of the original stable, the former chapel and the former representative room in the so-called Small Manor House.
10.45 – 12.00 Transfer to the Church of St. Margaret of Antioch + tour and interpretation of its origin and significance.
12.00 – 12.10 Transfer to the Kačenarna building (stamp).
12.10 – 12.50 Tour of the reconstructed Duck House.
12.50 – 14.00 Transfer – Kačenreň Museum – Great Moravia Footbridge – Slavic settlement Mikulčice.
14.00 – 16.00 Sightseeing of the Slavic Hillfort in Mikulčice, observation tower in the visitor centre (stamp), possibility of a quick snack in the bistro.
16.00 End of the event.
The organizer provides a bus for transport from the hillfort on the way Mikulčice – Hodonín – Kopčany.
Change of the programme reserved. Admission to the event and the buildings is voluntary.
Contacts to the main organizer:
European Cultural Routes of Saints Cyril and Methodius, AILE.
J. A. Bati 5520, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic
info@cyril-methodius.eu www.cyril-methodius.cz FB @cyril.methodius.route