Dolní Věstonice (german: Unterwisternitz) is a municipality and village in

Břeclav District Břeclav District ( cs, okres Břeclav) is one of seven districts ('' okres'') within South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Břeclav. Complete list of municipalities Bavory - '' Boleradice'' - Borkovany - Bořet ...

in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 300 inhabitants. It is known for the eponymous archaeological site.

Geography

Dolní Věstonice lies on the border between the

Mikulov Highlands The Mikulov Highlands ( cs, Mikulovská vrchovina) is a mountain range in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. The Highlands, together with the Waschberg Zone and Lower Austria Inselberg threshold, form the South-Moravian Carpathians ...

and

Dyje–Svratka Valley The Dyje–Svratka Valley ( cs, Dyjsko-svratecký úval, german: Thaya-Schwarza Talsenke) is a geomorphological feature (a special type of vale) in South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. History The Dyje–Svratka Valley has been a natural ...

. It is located on the shore of the

Nové Mlýny reservoirs The Nové Mlýny reservoirs ( cs, Vodní dílo Nové Mlýny) are three reservoirs behind the Nové Mlýny Dam on the Thaya River in the Czech Republic. The lower reservoir, 1,668 ha in area, is the Novomlýnská (or Nové Mlýny) Reservoir, the ...

. The municipality is partly located in the

Pálava Protected Landscape Area The Pálava Protected Landscape Area (abbreviated Pálava PLA; cs, Chráněná krajinná oblast Pálava, abbreviated ''CHKO Pálava'') is a protected landscape area and a UNESCO biosphere reserve located in the South Moravian Region in the Czech ...

. The area on the reservoir is protected as the Věstonice Reservoir Nature Reserve.

History

Prehistoric times

Dolní Věstonice is known for the Dolní Věstonice archaeological site. Approximately 25,000 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic period of the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

, a small settlement of

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

hunters consisting of huts built with rocks and mammoth bones was founded on the site of what is now Dolní Věstonice. This is the oldest permanent human settlement that has ever been found. Numerous other archaeological discoveries point to extensive human habitation of the area in prehistoric times. The archaeological site is also known for finding

Venus of Dolní Věstonice The Venus of Dolní Věstonice ( cs, Věstonická venuše) is a Venus figurine, a ceramic statuette of a nude female figure dated to 29,000–25,000 BCE (Gravettian industry). It was found at the Paleolithic site Dolní Věstonice in the Moravian ...

, one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Europe and one of the oldest and most famous art in the world.

9th–20th century

During the

Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavs, Wes ...

period, which lasted between the 9th and 10th centuries, a small Slavic gord was built here. The gord protected a ford on an important trade route. The first written mention of Věstonice is from 1312. During the 13th century the place became inhabited by German colonists. In 1460, the village was promoted to a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

by King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

. From the beginning of the 16th century until their expulsion in 1622, the anabaptists settled here. They were famous for their high level of education and the establishment of wine cellars, which have survived to this day. Until 1918, the village was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

(Austria side after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

), in the '' Nikolsburg'' District, one of the 34 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

.Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm Klein, 1967 In 1938, it was occupied by the Nazi army as one of the municipalities in Sudetenland. The German speaking population was expelled in 1945 according to the

Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees, sk, Dekréty prezidenta republiky) and the Constitutional Decrees of the President of the Republic ( cz, Ústavní dekrety presidenta republiky, sk, Ústavné dekréty prezidenta republiky) were a series of laws drafted by t ...

and replaced by Czech settlers.

Demographics

Economy

Dolní Věstonice is known for

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. The municipality lies in the

Mikulovská wine Mikulovská is one of four Czech wine regions within southern Moravia, Czech Republic. The Mikulovská wine region, containing 30 wine villages, is famed for producing white wines grown in the limestone soils, particularly in and around the area of ...

subregion.

Sights

Tourist attractions follow the archaeological glory of the municipality. The archaeological site includes an outdoor exhibition. An educational archeological path leads from Dolní Věstonice to neighbouring

Pavlov Pavlov (or its variant Pavliv) may refer to: People *Pavlov (surname) (fem. ''Pavlova''), a common Bulgarian and Russian last name *Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist famous for his experiments in classical conditioning Places Czech Republic *Pavlo ...

. Remains of the gord rampart and floor plan of the church, which stood here until the early 13th century, are preserved.

References

External links

*
Photographs of the area and archaeological artefacts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolni Vestonice Villages in Břeclav District Stone Age Czech Republic Archaeology of Moravia Margraviate of Moravia