Mikulčice

Mikulčice
Village
Church of the Assumption in Mikulčice
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	South Moravian
District	Hodonín
Commune	Hodonín
Elevation	165 m (541 ft)
Coordinates	48°49′N 17°03′E / 48.817°N 17.050°E / 48.817; 17.050Coordinates: 48°49′N 17°03′E / 48.817°N 17.050°E / 48.817; 17.050
Area	15.30 km2 (5.91 sq mi)
Population	1,933 (2008-01-01)
Density	126/km2 (326/sq mi)
First mention	1131
Mayor	Josef Helešic
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	696 19
Location in the Czech Republic
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.mikulcice.cz

Mikulčice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmi.kul.tʃi.tsɛ]) is a municipality (obec) in the Czech Republic, situated 7 km south of Hodonín, nearby the Slovak border. It extends for 1,530 ha, comprising 1,955 inhabitants in 623 homes, and a biospheric reserve, containing beavers and storks. The local economy is predominantly based on agriculture and tourism.

From the sixth until the tenth century, a Slavic fortified settlement existed 3 km away from the modern village. The settlement was one of the main centres of the Great Moravian Empire, plausibly its capital city. Excavations, led by Josef Poulík, unearthed the remnants of twelve churches, a palace, and more than 2,500 graves (three containing African skeletons) (including a horse burial). The only still-standing church safely dated to the Great Moravian period is found in the nearby Slovak village of Kopčany. The excavation complex is nationally recognised as the Mikulčice-Valy or Mikulčice Archaeopark heritage site.

The oldest written reference to the village itself dates to 1131, when the village was referred to as Miculcici in Medieval Latin. Both the Czech Mikulčice and the Latin Miculcici are nouns which exist only in the plural form, like the Netherlands. Mikulčice meaning simply "the people of Mikul (dialectal form of Nicholas)".