Coin details

Denomination: €100 Prince Rastislav built a strong country in the cen- Composition: Au 900, Ag 75, Cu 25 tral Danubian area; he strengthened its independence Weight: 9.5 g by forging alliances with other (mainly the Czechs and Wends) and further ensured it through diplomatic Diameter: 26 mm relations with the Holy See. Given the power and in- Edge: milled dependence of his country, he was able to provide full Issuing volume: up to a maximum of 5,000 proof coins support to the great missionary, teaching and diplo- matic activities of Constantine and Methodius, who in Designer: Mgr. art. Roman Lugár turn made the country even more stable. Great Mora- Engraver: Dalibor Schmidt via served as an example for other Slavs, and would in Producer: Mincovňa Kremnica / Kremnica Mint many ways become a template for future central Euro- pean countries such as , Poland and . The obverse side depicts the ground plan of a Great Moravian church in Devín, and within this plan are va- NORTH SEA rious letters of the Glagolitic alphabet, the first Slavo- nic alphabet. Along the edge of the design are deco- rative elements composed of beads. To the lower left Atlantic ocean Great Mor is the coat of arms of the Slovak Republic, and above that is denomination and currency, “100 EURO”, split avia into two lines. Inscribed along the lower edge is the name of the issuing country, “SLOVENSKO”, and the year “2014”. To the right of the ground plan are the sty- Frankish Empire lised initials “RL”, standing for the name of the designer, Byzantine Empire Roman Lugár, and the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint.

Great Moravia in the 8th–9th century

On the reverse side is an imagined portrait of Rastislav juxtaposed with a cross from the Great Moravian peri- od (found at an archaeological excavation in Mikulči- ce). Around most of the edge are two lines of beading, and between them the inscription “VEĽKOMORAVSKÉ KNIEŽA RASTISLAV”. The years of Rastislav‘s reign, “846–870”, appear along the lower edge. Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia

Published by: © Národná banka Slovenska, November 2014 Photo: NBS, Progress Promotion, Wikipedia (by Tyssil, LURE, Peter Zelizňák, Kirk) Gold collector coin Icon of Saints Constantine and Methodius being welcomed to Great Moravia by Prince Rastislav http://www.nbs.sk/en/banknotes-and-coins/euro-coins/collector-coins Prince Rastislav, who ruled Great Moravia in the period 846–870, is a remarkable In August 869 Rastislav and his nephew of Slovak history. Among the rulers of Svätopluk, the Nitrian appanage prince, faced Great Moravia (which covered much of pre- a new Frankish attack. The following year, Svä- sent-day ), he stood out as a soldier, topluk made a separate peace with Carloman, diplomat, politician and Christian. His rule was with the result that an enraged Rastislav plot- recorded by several Frankish chroniclers as well as besieging Rastislav in his fortified stronghold (probably ted to kill his nephew. The plot failed, and Svä- in biographies of Saints Constantine and Metho- in present-day Mikulčice) and pillaging the province. topluk captured Rastislav and extradited him to dius written in the Slavonic language. According Rastislav managed to repulse the attack, and in doing Carloman. In September 870 a court in Regens- to these sources, Great Moravia under Rastislav so took an important step towards establishing the in- burg, presided by King , sen- grew from being a tribal principality to a country independent from Francia, and, later on, from East dependence of Great Moravia. In order to stabilise the tenced Rastislav to blinding and imprisonment. Francia. As its importance increased, Great Mora- country, he entered into alliance with the Czechs and Great Moravia seemed to be in ruins, but in 871 via established relations with the Holy See and be- Wends. In 857 he hosted a rebellious Czech prince, Sla- the Moravians rose up and won their freedom. came well-known as far as Constantinople. vitach, at his court, and in the same year defied another It is not known for how long the imprisoned Frankish attack. Carloman, the eldest son of King Louis Rastislav lived or whether Prince Mojmir I of Great the German, struck an alliance with Rastislav and re- he learnt of the Moravian Moravia (833 to 846) was vas- volted against his father. From 858 Rastislav appears to victory. sal to the rulers of Francia. Un- have made his headquarters at Devín (close to present- der the custom of that period, -day Bratislava), since from there he could swiftly foray Mojmir was required to send into the extensive border region on the other bank of hostages to the royal court in the river . In 861 Moravia invaded neighbouring Regensburg. It is highly likely Pannonia, whose ruler, Pribina, was killed in the figh- that Rastislav, a nephew of ting. In 863 Louis the German suppressed Carloman‘s Mojmir, served as a hostage revolt, and in August 864 he crossed the Danube, trap- Icon of Prince Rastislav at the court and, while there, ping Rastislav at Devín and agreeing a truce with him. The Slav stronghold at Devín gained the confidence of Lo- Amidst these events, Rastislav sought to establish uis the German. With Great independent religious arrangements in Great Moravia; Moravia in a state of internal he did not want the church in Great Moravia to be part unrest, Louis the German in- of the Passau diocese, which served as an instrument vaded it in 846 and installed of Frankish political influence. Thus in 862 he turned Rastislav as ruler. to the Pope in Rome with a request for missionaries. At first Rastislav was a When his request was unsuccessful, he addressed A scale model of a Great Moravian church the emperor in Constantinople. In 863 a Byzantine th peaceful neighbour of East from the second half of the 9 century The Slav stronghold at Mikulčice mission led by brothers Constantine and Methodius Francia. In 854, however, Ras- arrived in Great Moravia. Supported by Rastislav, the tislav supported a rebellion two brothers performed a wide range of missionary, against King Louis the Ger- organisational and cultural activities; they established man led by Ratpot, the pre- a Slavonic ‚school‘ and started to educate local priests fect of Eastland and Carinthia. and develop Slavonic literature. Pope Hadrian II The king deposed Ratpot acknowledged the results of their activities and made and in 855 invaded Moravia, Methodius an archbishop at the end of 869. Bronze statue of Saints Constantine and Metho- dius by Stanislav Mikuš