in Lower Pannonia (). Within ten years, Coin details the King made Pribina the hereditary duke of this Denomination: 100 euro area, with his ducal seat at Zalavár on the sout- Material: Au 900/1000 hwestern tip of . Here, too, Pribina Ag 75/1000 was active in spreading and commis- Cu 25/1000 sioned the construction of at least 16 churches. Weight: 9,5 g Pribina died in 861 during a battle against the Diameter: 26 mm Moravians. Most of what we know about Pribina Edge: milled is contained in „Conversio Bagoariorum et Ca- Mintage: 7,000 pieces in proof rantanorum“ (The Conversion of the Bavarians Designer: academic sculptor Ivan Řehák and the Caratanians), a history of unknown aut- Engrave: Dalibor Schmidt horship written in Salzburg in 871. Among the Producer: Kremnica Mint other sources of information about the rise and fall of Pribina‘s Principality at is archaeolo- gical evidence. This includes a system of defen- The observe side of the coins features a silhou- ces discovered in the area of Bojná, along with etted outline of the above-mentioned Bojná bell artefacts indicating the stratification of society in and a centrally placed depiction of Nitra castle in the Principality and the Great Moravian Empire. its current form. On the left side of the design is Other finds include opulent jewellery, clothing the country name SLOVENSKO, and on the right bedecked with gold and silver, decorative hor- side the year 2011, below which is the national se-riding equipment and weapons. The site was emblem of the Slovak Republic. The denomination also made famous by the discovery of artefacts 100 EURO is written in the lower part of the field. from the oldest Christian mission of the Pribina To the left of the denomination is the mark of the period. The reverse side of the coin features a Kremnica Mint and to the right are the stylised ini- tials of the coin‘s designer, Ivan Řehák. bell that is one of the oldest in Europe, and the obverse depicts a plaque bearing the first recor- On the reverse side there is an imagined portrait ded writing in Slovak history, the Latin abbrevia- of Prince Pribina. The centre of the design depicts tion IN DE, short for CREDO IN DEO (the plaque a fragment of the plaque found at Bojná. Near the came from a portable altar and also depicts a edge of the coin is the inscription NITRIANSKE gilded angel). KNIEŽA PRIBINA (PRINCE PRIBINA of NITRA) and the year of his death † 861.

PRINCE PRIBINA A detail from the reverse side th Cover: The sculpture of Prince Pribina in Nitra by academic sculptor 1150 anniversary of his death Tibor Bártfay Published by: © Národná banka Slovenska, November 2011 Pribina‘s portrait by academic sculptor Jozef Bubák Photos: Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Science and Bedrich Schreiber Gold collector coin on 20-koruna banknotes http://www.nbs.sk/en/banknotes-and-coins/euro-coins/collector-coins Pribina, in line with his wife‘s wishes, gave him a Ba- varian name and had him immediately baptised. Pribina was the first renowned Slav ruler. Born in around A contemporary record of the building of the church AD 800, he was the Prince of and its consecration by the archbishop not only pro- Nitrava, a territory in the Western vides evidence of the penetration of Christianity in part of present-day , Slovakia, it also contains the first recorded mention where he reigned until 833. His of a settlement in the territory. The arrival of this new fortress was surrounded by a religion, supported by the ruling classes, led to major river at the site of the present- changes in the life of what had up to then been a day city of Nitra. Pribina has pagan society. a permanent place in Slovak history and his legacy has Pribina‘s reign saw the emergence of many settle- over the centuries influenced ments which, with the later establishment of castles the cultural awareness of the and towns, played a significant role throughout the . Middle Ages. The economic and administrative cen- tre of the principality was located at Nitra, and anot- her important settlement was Bojná (in the present- Nobleman’s sword-hilt from the 9th century, day district of Topoľčany). found in Blatnica Nitra castle, the probable seat of Pribina Pribina ruled Nitrava for only five or six years. In 833, he was driven out of his homeland by the Moravian The first record of Christianity in the territory of the Khan of Bulgaria. After failing to secure help ruler Mojmir, against whom he had been fighting Slovakia is associated with the name and acts of from either the Franks or the , Pribina since 830. The principalities of Moravia and Nitra- Pribina. Although a pagan, Pribina had a Chris- returned to the court of Ratbod, who presented va were thus unified to become the Great Moravian tian church built at Nitra, which was consecrated him to , the King of East Fran- Empire, which until the beginning of the 10th century by Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg in 828. The kia. The King ordered that Pribina be baptized in was the most powerful empire in . church served Pribina‘s Christian wife, who was Salzburg‘s church of Traismauer and in around probably a member of the noble Bavarian Wilhel- After his expulsion from Nitra, Pribina sought sanc- 840 made him the suzerain of lands in the duchy miner family. His son Koceľ was born in Nitra, and tuary with Prefect Ratbod, and then with Presian, of Carinthia, specifically the territory around Zala

Nitrava and Moravia Great Moravia under Svatopluk

Gilded plaques from Bojná, The Nitra and Moravia Reconstructed gate Bell found in Bojná (9th century), probably probably part of a portable altar Principalities of the Slav settlement the oldest Christian bell in central Europe