An archaeological wander through Czechia

A journey back into prehistoric times, in search of mammoths, Neanderthals and the oldest ceramic work of art in the world

You can start your journey back through time in South Moravia, at the archaeological park in Pavlov. Not only does the new museum present the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, the oldest ceramic figurine in the world, it also shows you the world that the people who made it used to live in 29,000 years ago.

If you fancy heading off in search of mammoths and the prehistoric world inhabited by the first people, you can also visit the Anthropos Pavilion of the Moravian Museum in Brno. This unique exhibition, unparalleled elsewhere in Central Europe, documents the most ancient history of the settlement of what is now Czechia and Europe as a whole. The museum features a reconstruction of a mammoth from 1928, sponsored by the world-famous shoemaker Tomáš Baťa.


Brno - Anthropos Pavilion

It is also definitely worth visiting the unconventional Šipka Museum in the picturesque town of Štramberk, named after the nearby cave in the depths of which the remains of a Neanderthal child were found. You can hardly tell the museum apart from a real cave!
 

The meeting point of the Roman and barbarian world, or Where the word Bohemia came from

The ancient Celtic culture that flourished in what is now Czechia before our Common Era, is the subject of the Celtic exhibition in Nasavrky, on the boundary between Vysočina and East Bohemia. The Celtic open-air archaeological museum there is named Land of the Celts, as this was home to the Boii tribe, after whom the whole of Bohemia is named in the Roman chronicles, and the name Bohemia is used in Latin through to English to this day. You’ll feel as though you’ve travelled back in time to 2,000 years ago, to point where the Roman and barbarian world meet!

And of course you should definitely not miss a visit to the Chotěbuz-Podobora Archaeological Park in Silesia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The Archaeological Park is a reconstruction of a Slavic settlement, from the mid-8th century to the 11th century, and is now one of the most important and best documented archaeological sites in the whole of Czechia. Archaeological excavations are still under way there, and so tours can only be taken with a guide.


 

Back into the past to the time of Great Moravia

The first historically documented state within the territory of what we now know as Czechia was Great Moravia, with its own unique culture and power centres. This period is shrouded in mystery, although you can discover something about it in Mikulčice or Staré Město near Uherské Hradiště. You can admire replicas of period clothing, footwear, jewellery, tools and other finds from the archaeological excavations that have been carried out there for more than a hundred years.

You can also get an insight into life during the Great Moravian era at the open-air museum in Modrá, where you can take a look around a fortified settlement from that period. Besides the chance to take a peek into several dwellings, workshops and farm and sacral buildings, including an episcopal palace, craft days with a lavish programme of events also present the life of the people back then.



In June 2024 the Modrá Open Air Archaeological Museumopened a unique exhibition entitled The Treasury of Great Moravia. It takes the form of an underground circular pantheon, lit only by the daylight that streams through the little bell tower on the surface. It offers visitors some of the most valuable historical treasures - finds of rare Great Moravia jewellery and unique archaeological discoveries of various objects from grave sites in our country. The originals or authentic replicas are displayed in special bulletproof cases.

Experience history will all your senses

The Central Bohemian Museum in Roztoky near Prague has prepared a multimedia archaeological exhibition entitled Archevita – In the Footsteps of the Ages, which enables you to experience history with all your senses, meet an ancient ancestor, see how an axe was made or how people used to trade way back then. Everything is enhanced by projections, holograms and virtual reality. The exhibition is interactive and works with emotions.

Become a hero of “Jurassic Park”!

Are your kids obsessed with dinosaurs? Have they got them on their t-shirt, pencil case and school backpack? If so, here’s a tip on how to become the best parent in the world! Take your little ones to one of the Dinoparks, where they’re sure to have a great time and together you can take a journey millions of years back into the past, to the time of primordial dinosaurs, and prehistoric animals and plants. You can find dinoparks packed with these life-size reptiles in Prague, Plzeň, Vyškov and Liberec, with by far the biggest being near Ostrava.
Small adventurers are also sure to love the Dinosauria Museum Prague on the city’s outskirts, where you and your kids will find yourselves face to face with real skeletons and models of large-as-life prehistoric reptiles! Children (and adults alike) will also enjoy the world of dinosaurs through a state-of-the-art virtual game.