Church of St. Margaret of Antioch

Church of St. Margaret of Antioch is the only building still standing which certainly dates from the time of the Greater Moravian Empire. It is considered to be the oldest church in Slovakia. The church was built probably in the 9th or 10th century and was first mentioned in 1329. It was used until the 18th century when a new church was built in the village of Kopčany.

The church is an original pre-Romanesque building. It is a single-cell church with small rectangular chancel to the east chancel).The recent excavations have shown that the original church had a rectangular narthex at the west end of the church, and this contained a large stone lined tomb for the founding figure of the church. When the narthex was pulled down the Gothic arch which formed the entry at the west end, was inserted.

The first architectural survey of the church was conducted in 1964, the next in 1994. During investigations in 2004, three graves and jewellery from the times of Great Moravia were found outside the church. Currently archaeological research is focused on reconstruction of the historical landscape and its settlements. Also during this period the church has undergone further restoration work and the old render has been stripped from the walls. This now shows that the two arched windows on the north side of the nave are original while the windows on the south side were altered in the later Romanesque period. Since 1995, the church has been listed under Slovak cultural heritage. The outside of the church is openly accessible to the public. It stands in a field to the east of Kopčany and it is about 1.6 km from the major Greater Moravian site at Mikulčice, which is on the other side of the Morava river. It is approached by a road and is fairly close to the ruins of an 16th-17th century building which may have been a farm or manor house.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Kopčany, Slovakia

Details

Founded: 9-10th century AD
Category: Religious sites in Slovakia