Mušov () is a cadastral area and a defunct village in the municipality of Pasohlávky,

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region (; , ; ), or just South Moravia, is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia. The region's capital is Brno, th ...

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

. It covers an area of .

Geography and history

Mušov was the lowest-lying village in the Břeclav District. The village was destroyed despite the opposition of its inhabitants in the late 1970s, due to the decision of the then socialist authorities to build the Nové Mlýny reservoirs by flooding a unique

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

of the

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, Sink (geography), sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definitio ...

in the area around the river

Thaya The Thaya (, ) is a river in the Czech Republic and Austria, a right tributary of the Morava (river), Morava River. It flows through the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic and through Lower Austria in Austria. It is formed by the conflue ...

. In 1976, the village was merged with the neighbouring municipality of Pasohlávky. The residents of Mušov could choose whether they wanted an apartment or to build a house in a newly built street in Pasohlávky. The village was flooded between 1981 and 1987. The post office in Mušov was last opened on 30 June 1978. Thanks to the efforts of conservationists, it was decided to preserve the medieval St Leonard's church, now standing on a small island in the middle of the Věstonice Reservoir (the middle reservoir). An archaeological survey has found that the church is much older than previously thought. St Leonard's church, originally a late Romanesque building dating from the late 12th century, was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 14th century. The dating of subsequent

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

modifications is not known. The abandoned island with the church is an important bird nesting spot and a protected area listed in the ecological network

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

. It is opened to public during the summer months. The

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...

s located on the north of the dam along the west side of the road leading to Pohořelice remained completely intact.

Archeological site

In the 2nd century AD, there used to be a Roman military settlement on the hill called Burgstall (today Hradisko), which is situated above the former village and above today's ATC Merkur camping at Pasohlávky. The Xth Roman legion was supposed to be responsible for checking the

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts ...

defeated in

Marcomannic Wars The Marcomannic Wars () were a series of wars lasting from about AD 166 until 180. These wars pitted the Roman Empire against principally the Germanic peoples, Germanic Marcomanni and Quadi and the Sarmatian Iazyges; there were related conflicts ...

, during the reign of the Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

. The research on the site, located 80 km far from

Vindobona Vindobona (; from Gaulish ''windo-'' "white" and ''bona'' "base/bottom") was a Roman military camp (or ) in the province of Pannonia, located on the site of the modern city of Vienna in Austria. The settlement area took on a new name in the 13 ...

(today's

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

), started in 1927. The researchers found remnants of two masonry buildings, ''

praetorium The Latin term ''praetorium'' (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman '' castrum'' (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roma ...

'' and ''balneum'' ("bath"), including '' hypocaustum''. The foundings of bricks with the stamp of the Xth legion and coins from the period of the emperors

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

, Marcus Aurelius, and

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

facilitated dating of the locality. The youngest coins found in the area are from the era of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

. In 1988, a richly equipped tomb of a Germanic chieftain, apparently a Roman ally in the war, was found near to the hill. Furthermore, there was found a Slavic burial and numerous archaeological discoveries from various periods of

prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

. The archaeological exhibition focusing on the ancient Roman presence in the area is situated in the ATC Merkur camping at Pasohlávky.

Gallery

References

Literature

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External links

Zatopené osudy
a documentary about Mušov (

Czech Television Czech Television ( ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting six channels. Established after breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslovak Television founded in 1953. H ...

)
Romans and Germans in the Land Below the Pálava
an exhibition in the Regional Museum in

Mikulov Mikulov (; ) is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,600 inhabitants. From the 16th to the 19th century, it was the cultural centre of the Jewish community of Moravia. The historic centr ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musov Former villages in the Czech Republic Archaeological sites in the Czech Republic Brno-Country District