 |
 |
|
|
About the Great Moravian Church in Modrá and its possible design The original foundation of the church was discovered on this hill as early as 1911. Revisory research was held in 1953, even though it uncovered only the negatives of the foundation. Nevertheless, it discovered building remains important for complex evaluation of the building. On the basis of an analysis of the surrounding burial site, the probable period of the church implementation was dated back to the 9th century, which was the beginning of Christianization of Slavs living above the river Danube. After study of the building artifacts we came to some clear conclusions, some probable conclusions and some hypothetical assumptions based on literature and comparison with other buildings from the same period, which still exist as the starting points of missionaries christianizing Moravian people during the 9th century. The church in Modrá was built from hammer-dressed stone collected in nearby Chřiby. The stones were joined with mortar of different quality: in the foundation it was mixed with clay, and in the above-ground part with more lime. We can say nearly for sure that the whole building was made of stone and its interior walls were at least plastered, painted white and some parts were decorated in colors. We can guess reddish-brown, blueish-grey and black colors. We can also assume that the original floor of the church was cast with a redbrick covering laid on a penning of broken stones and maybe there were also parts with larger flat stones. Quantity and layout of the windows is only hypothetical, as well as other interior details in the above-ground part of the church, as the archaeological research didn't reveal any information about them. The entrance to the church was situated in the western or southern part of the church. We can also assume that the ceiling was flat, probably made of wood, and it had a saddle roof without the turret. The roof itself could have been made of natural materials like shingles because clay fired components similar to findings from Staré Město were not found here. However, the church was undoubtedly an important building and one of the oldest Christian churches in Pomoraví. At the beginning of the 13th century (in the Cistercian phase of the church in Modrá) the church was most probably redesigned and the ceiling and the roof were reinforced by two pairs of stone columns supporting the turret. The walls were repaired with stone blocks and bricks. The outer design of St. John's Church, described in written sources, changed a lot in comparison with the Great Moravian building. These building components from the period of the peak and late Middle Ages can be seen even now in some houses around Modrá. They remind us also of the once important building of the church in Modrá near Velehrad.
|
|
| Design: Robert Číhal | © 2010 Archeoskanzen Modrá |
