Staré Zámky Hillfort

Staré Zámky are archaeological sites in Brno-Líšni. It is a significant fortification from the end of neolithic to the beginning of the 11th century. The locality lies on a rocky island in the southern part of the Moravian Karst and is considered a direct predecessor of Brno.

The settlement of the site started in the 5th to 4th millennium B.C. This is confirmed by the findings of ceramics from the late neolithic to early eneolite. During the course of the eneolite, the people of the culture of pinkish cups settled here and later the bearers of the culture with canned ceramics. That's when a densely built estate surrounded by a defensive boulder and a moat was built. The resettlement took place at different times during the Bronze, Latin and early movement of nations.

The area of about 13 hectares is situated on a glued rock field, which is surrounded by a river stream on three sides. The territory shall be divided into a central part and a prepaid part. The first is a triangular area of around 4.5 hectares. It was fortified throughout the perimeter, except for the gate in the northeast part, which served to access the water. In the northwest, the foothold separated from the barrier of the armour. In the period of the Grand Moravian, there was an aluminium wall with a wooden palisade. Later there was a massive fortification, cabin buildings, a grand courtyard with a ten-metre wooden guard tower and probably a church. In the field there is still a 320 metres long section of the outer wall in the forest of Halegletunia. It exceeds the surrounding area by 2 to 2.5 metres and adjacent to a two-metre ditch.

In the 19th century the land was owned by Count Belcredi. In 1875 he first published findings obtained in agricultural works. The first archaeological research in the 1980s was carried out by Jan Knies, followed by Martin Kříž and Innocenc Ladislav Červinka. From 1948 to 1965 systematic research was carried out under the leadership of Josef Poulik, Anna Medunova and Čeňka Staňa from the Archaeological Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

The greatest blossom of the fort was achieved in the time of the Great Kingdom. Thanks to its strategic position on the link between central areas of the state with iron smelters in the Moravian Karst, it became one of its major centres. The premises were prepaid for funeral purposes at this time. The end of the great Moravian era was marked by a devastating fire and the violent invasion of enemy troops, as witnessed by the arrowheads found. The fortification was subsequently restored to a lesser extent and the castle worked until the end of the 10th century. Among the documented findings are marble beads, copper objects or bone strips.

In 1966, the site was declared a state archaeological reservation, since 1989 it has been an archaeological conservation. The monument allows the study of the continuity of human settlement in the strategic landscape near the River stream.

Staré Zámky is a key place for understanding the early history of Brno and Moravia. Visiting the site allows you to see closely traces of ancient cultures in natural terrain.