Welcome to the region of Moravian – The Watermill in Bohuslavice

At the crossroads of routs between Vienna (90km), Bratislava (100km), Budapest (400km) and Praha (190km), in the village of Bohuslavice, set in the woodland near the town of , a historical building from the 18th century is situated: a former watermill. This ecologically preserved region offers visitors a rich history as well as a teeming contemporary cultural life.

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Welcome to Slovácko, the region of living songs, rich cooking and good wine.

Slovácko, („Moravian Slovakia“), is the border between two historical countries – and Slovakia. It is the land of the lower reaches of the river. The origin of the local people is reflected in both the language and the name of the region – for they are, traditionally, both Moravians and Slovaks.

A thousand-year-old arch connects the famous period of Great Moravia with the order, rhythm and poetry of the wine culture with its living music. Slovácko is near to other great cultural centres – Vienna, , Bratislava and . Wine cellars nestled beneath trees – this is a symbol of the Moravian landscape.

Historical towns in Slovácko region reflect an old bygone aristocracy and a time when fortresses protected the land from periodic invasions. The history of the landscape and towns

2 in this region stretches back to the 8th and 9th century when a fortified settlement in the Morava river basin was directly at the centre of the great Christian civilization.

The rivers in Moravia provided favourable conditions for the building of thousands of watermills, of which only a handful have survived intact; the Bohuslavice watermill is one of them. The remnants of a great Christian civilization bear witness to the magnificent culture of the first Slavic state formed on our territory – The Great Moravian Empire. The archaeological site is situated in Mikulčice. (30 km from Kyjov).

This land holds many historical memories: - Memories of the French „Templars“ – a brotherhood of knights – whose original medieval stronghold may be visited at Čejkovice. (15 KM from Kyjov) - Memories of the culture of Diaspora, historically concentrated in the towns of the Slovácko region - Memories of Habans, old German potters whose skillful pottery-making techniques are still practised today. According to experts, there are traces of the Haban pottery in the Bohuslavice watermill, and the still unsearched cellars can hide remnants of this valued pottery. (The northern part of the mill originated as a monastery and the Gothic vaulting in the subterranean passages has been preserved to our days.) - Memories of Jan Amos Komenský, born in 1592 in Nivnice (40 km from Kyjov) and burried in Naarden (The Netherlands), an enlightened reformer, especially in the field of education. His books were translated into many languages all over the world. He became famous as the Teacher of Nations. - The Slovácko region is the birthplace of the founder of the Czechoslovak state (1918), T.G.Masaryk, (1850, Hodonín – 20 km from Kyjov), who spent his childhood here.

In the surroundings of the Bohuslavice watermill (within 10 km), there are many beautiful historical places:

Strážnice – historically one of the largest Moravian towns with historical Gates Kyjov – the royal town with the town hall built in 1562 Veselí nad Moravou – a historical town protected by a moat – the beautiful castle with its curious sculptures, French gardens and romantic parkland. Originally a medieval moated fortress, it was turned into a four-wing chateau in the 16th century. However, as a renaissance aristocratic dwelling it failed to comply with the baroque taste of the Serényi family, owners of Hungarian descent, who counted significant members of the Viennese court among their members.

…………………There is so much to see and just as many historical traditions just waiting to be experienced

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The Slovácko region sounds with festivals of music, dance and merriment throughout the year. It involves the wearing of traditional folk costumes which can be found only here. These include the costumes of the Horňácko region with their distinctive palette of the White Carpathian countryside, the costumes of the town of Strážnice with their green colour representing the vegetation around the Morava river, and the costumes of the Kyjov region, with their tones of blue sky and red wine.

For thousands years, south-east Moravia has been deeply religious and there are many celebrations of deep Christian piousness. These include the pilgrims journey to St. Antony, whose shrine perches on a hill above Blatnice, and to the Virgin Mary in Žarošice. Many villages have their own pilgrim processions.

Local villages have kept their own atmosphere. Each village has its own festival alluring both inhabitants and visitors to sing, dance, feast and make merry. The annual run of folk customs and rituals is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition. The most traditional public festival – feast – is held at all villages, sometimes also in towns. They take place in the summer and in the autumn, often several times in the course of the year. Processions of people dressed in costumes with rites, dance merriments and gastronomic specialities put life into the village.

There are festivals of folklore. From the International Festival of Strážnice to Kyjov where the Slovak Year creates a particularly vibrant atmosphere. The festival of the Horňácko region takes place at the foot of the White Carpathians. (the distance from Bohuslavice is within 20 km)

The folk architecture in the region has its own individual style and reflects the architecture of local villages. You can see the same styles among the stone buildings and timbered haylofts of the Horňácko region, or on the front of low houses with their decorated doors (žudro) in Strážnicko and Podluží.. You can visit the treasures of folk architecture from all corners of the Slovácko region in one place – at the Open-Air Museum of the South-East Moravian Village, in Strážnice. In this museum, there is a tourist rarity: one of the last watermills in the region.

Folk Handicratfts: Wooden toys, figures from the nativity scene, straw bread baskets, wicker baskets, bags and mats of reed, embroideries, jugs, painted plates, figures of dry maize leaves and animals of dough and gingerbread. Each district has its own traditional ornament which is painted on Easter eggs. Smiths, weavers, woodcarvers, potters and women who paint unique folk ornaments – all of them have made the Slovácko region famous. It is possible to encounter all these handicrafts live at „markets“ which are usually part of larger festivals of handicrafts, folk fun and local food.

In Bohuslavice near the watermill, as well as in the surrounding villages, traditional wine festivals are held:

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Festivals of wine: The traditional festivals of wine are annual. In almost all villages, both old and new wines are tasted in the winter and in the early spring. In the course of ripening, and then during the grape harvest, festivals of wine take place in many villages to observe the traditional customs (closing and opening of vineyards, vintage). There are many different varieties of wine, each associated with a particular wine-growing region. Their variations depend on the tradition, soil composition, location and slope of the land.

Wine-growing regions: Blatnice – BLATNICKY ROHAC – mixture of Pinot Blanc and Green Silvan – BZENECKA LIPKA – Rhine Riesling with arome of blooming limetree Čejkovice – SAUVIGNON Dolní Bojanovice – RHINE RIESLING – PINOT BLANC Mutěnice – TRAMINER Petrov – SAUVIGNON Strážnice – St.LAURENCE – PINOT BLANC – popular with Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars

Many places in the region are connected with Napoleon’s stay in Moravia and the important Battle of Slavkov (Austerlitz – 30 km away from the Bohuslavice watermill). The Battle of Austerlitz is considered to be the end of the anti-French coalition constituted in 1805 by Russia, , Sweden, Naples and financially subsidized by England. The army of the Allies was headed by the Austrian emperor Francis I. and the Russian tsar Alexander I. Their adversary was the 36-year old French emperor, Italian king and mediator of the Swiss Confederation, Napoleon I. Bonaparte. The battle ended with an absolute victory for the French. Following an armistice concluded on 6 December 1805 in the Austerlitz Castle, the peace treaty was signed on 26 December 1805 in Bratislava. The Battle of Austerlitz consolidated Napoleon’s power in Europe and its political result was the demise of the nearly millenary Holy Roman Empire. On the southern plains of the fruitful Slovácko region grapes have grown since the Roman period. Wine is a way of life, it is a combination of the rich soil, the sun, and the water, which contributes to the appearance, taste and aroma of the wine. Moravian wine is indeed a medicine without comparison.

Local historical sights ( within 60 km from Bohuslavice) - Buchlov Castle – one of the most famous medieval castles in Moravia - Buchlovice Chateau – built in the style of an Italian villa which is surrounded by a unique park of a great importance in medieval European history - Mikulčice Valy – The Old Slavonic Ringwall – National Cultural Monument. The first Slavs came to Moravia in the 5th century AD where they created the Great Moravian Empire. Some 2000 tombs have been excavated revealing medieval metal, wood, and ceramic crafts as well as gold jewellery. - Veligrad ( near Uherské Hradiště) – it was a centre of the Great Moravian Empire which was settled in the 6th century. - Pálava Unesco Biosphere Reserve - White Carpathians Unesco Biosphere Reserve

5 - Wind Mill in Kuželov

Moravian places of interest listed at UNESCO World Herritage List (within 150 km from Bohuslavice) 1. Kroměříž – One of the beautiful towns in Moravia founded in 1260 by Bishop Bruno Schauemberg on the remains of settlements of the Great-Moravian Empire. The unique Baroque style Květná and Podzámecká gardens and the Archbishopś Chateau are listed on UNESCO list. The art gallery features paintings by Titan, Van Dyke, Brueghel and other old masters. 2. Lednice-Valtice area Was founded by the Liechtenstein Family, is the worlds largest man-made landscaped area comprising of 200 square km. In 1997 was listed among the UNESCO Sites. It represents a mosaic of grandiose chateaux and other smaller buildings in Lednice and Valtice which are beautifully located in chateau gardens, surrounding forests and among man-made lakes. 3. Olomouc 4. Telč – well preserved city centre 5. Brno and Špilberk castle Originally built in early gothic style from the 17th and 18th century, overlooking Brno, the largest city in South Moravia. Tugendhat villa – one of the most outstanding works of functionalist architecture built in 1929-1930 – UNESCO heritage.

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Bohuslavice

The surroundings of the village of Bohuslavice are rich in archaeological finds. In the locality, there was, for example, a palaeolithic settlement (where mammoth bones were discovered), a neolithic settlement, a burial site of the culture of bell-like vessels, and a Bronze Age settlement. The Slavonic era is also well-represented by findings, including burial mounds with skeletons. The first written record of Bohuslavice dates from 1131 and the first documented owner of the village is Beneš of Bohuslavice, mentioned in 1356. The village was of great military, strategical as well as economic importance, owing to its position at a cross-roads of trade routs. In 1572, Bohuslavice was granted a seal with two crossed oak twigs, each bearing two acorns. The church of SS. Philip and James dates back to 1408, but its contemporary appearance is the result of a rebuilding carried out in the years 1697- 1700, when the tower was erected. During the reconstruction in 2000, a sensational discovery was made: on the wall of the church, a medieval fresco dating from the first two decades of the 14th century was revealed, showing Christ on a cross in the form of three branches of a plant springing from earth, with the figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John standing at the foot of the cross, and – most unusually – with the sun and the moon above it. In 1620 there were 5 water-mills in Bohuslavice, which had been preserved until the 1950s. All but one were destroyed during the era of socialism. The only remaining one is a former free mill consisting of three buildings. Its owners are known only since the end of the 18th century and they changed frequently. There was also a sawmill attached to it.

Tourist atractions:

There are many opportunities available for visiting places and sites of interest.

The Moravian Karst is the most significant karst locality in the . Here, limestone formations from the Devonian (approximately 350-380 milion years old) have developed in a zone approximately 25 km long and 3-6 km wide north of Brno. (70 km from Bohuslavice)

There are many possibilities for all types of activities from a day-trip excursion on horseback (the watermill in Bohuslavice offers horseback riding) to a quiet walk through

7 the Chřiby hills or cycling on the forest paths of the White Carpathians or cycling among the many wine cellars and vineyards scattered among the viny paths of Slovácko.

Sightseeing tours on the Bata Channel on the Morava river are available from May until October. (The Bata Channel was originally opened in 1940 to provide transport for the Bata shoe factory in nearby Zlin. There are over 30 km of canal with 5 ports where you can rent canoe or board a motor barge.) – 15 km from Bohuslavice

Sightseeing flights above South Moravia start in Milotice airport near Kyjov - Bohuslavice. In the summer, the warm lakes in the White Carpathians valleys are very inviting and provide an unprecedented opportunity for relaxation. The Morava river, and its many tributaries, is very popular amongst anglers.

Other possibilities may include visit to the Zoological Garden in Hodonín or relaxing stay in the Hodonín Spa which specializes in Iodinebromine baths and mainly locomotive organs cure.

Hope to see you in Morava region soon !

Eva Abramuszkinová Pavlíková Tel. 00420-602-969267 E-mail: [email protected]

Mailing address: ABRAMUSZKINOVI Věteřov 63 697 01 Czech Republic

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