Pavlov Archaeological Park — Attraction in okres Břeclav

This is a REALLY REALLY well done museum for its size and location in a small Czech village. The facility is excellent, with beautiful displays in both Czech and English for everything in the permanent collection. You can learn a lot and visualize a lot at this site which was VERY IMPORTANT in terms of prehistory and archaeology, really on a worldwide scale.

It also is not very crowded, even on weekends, which is really nice for a good quality museum.

The English speaking staff member named Clara was wonderful. She knew so much and was able to answer any question about anything. I had the good fortune of tagging along on a tour that she was giving for a member (there are no regular tours available) but even outside of the tour, she was available to answer any questions about any of the displays or objects, and she really just did all-around excellent job.

The only reason I am not giving this excellent museum 5 stars is because almost everything is a replica. The originals of the world-famous Venus of Dolni Vestonice is locked away somewhere in Brno and cannot be seen by the public (a strange decision), and the skeletons of the world famous triple burial is also a replica, the real one is in the basement somewhere.

Now, having said that, replicas are awesome if they are painstakingly made, just like the originals, using the same techniques and materials, which is pretty much the case here, so it’s definitely worth going to if you are in the Czech Republic or Moravia.

AND, you get to see an actual excavated mammoth site with real mammoth bones and thousands of year-old reindeer remains sticking right out of it in the exact spot in which it was excavated, and this particular room is amazing and it is not a replica.

To summarize what you cannot miss here:

Venus of Dolni Vestonice and other famous Venuses (exact replicas) Skeletons of the triple burial with the intriguing atypical male perhaps being worshipped in the middle in a very suggestive way (exact replicas) prehistoric stone tools from the site (real) Mammoth bones sticking out of the actual excavation site (real) possibly worlds oldest map on mammoth tusk (replica but it was found here!)

It is quite hard to get here without a car from Brno so make sure to really research and plan well :). I ended up taking a 30 minute train from Brno to Breclav and then a 45 minute bus from there. It worked out but was not without stress :)

Great job on this...

This place is absolutely worth a visit for anyone interested in archaeology and human evolution, especially the early humans of Central Europe. There are explanatory panels in Czech and in English. I already knew a lot of the info from prior reading but seeing the replicas of crafts and tools and the reconstructions of some of the individuals was so much better than pictures online or in a book. There is also a really great explanatory panel on how anthropologists and sculpters work together to make the reconstructions as accurate as possible.

The staff member I dealt with was friendly, helpful, and patient with this non-Czech speaking tourist.

The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that there is a serious lack of signage for the Archaeology trail that starts just above the museum. ArchaeoPark provides a little map. But after the first station, which is right outside the building, it's really hard to know where to go. The map doesn't make it super clear for someone who doesn't know the town. The way it's described made me look for an actual hiking trail. But it turned out I had to walk through a good portion of the town to find that nature trail. In town, there are no signs specifically for the Archaeological Trail.

I don't know if this is the museum's responsibility or the town's, but it might be good to make it a bit easier for tourists to find the trail.

For those looking, follow signs for Děvičky Castle (Hrad). Sometimes there are no signs, just a discrete green square or circle with a white line. Eventually, you'll get to a dirt path. At the fork where there is a monument with a cross, keep right to follow the Archaeo Trail.

Also, don't rely on the map for the placement of the panels. It looks like #3 should be before the 2nd turn off to the castle, for example, but it's quite a ways after. Then there is another fork at some point with absolutely no indication of which branch to take. I only knew to go right because it was a busy weekend with a bunch of people walking up from Dolni Vistonice.

Anyway, if you have the patience to deal with that kind of lack of clarity, it's worth the hike if you are physically able. It's so cool to stand near the spot where they discovered the triple burial, and to see images of...

Great museum about prehistory and early history with a permanent exhibition. There are lots of artefacts, finds and replicas, well illustrated and also to touch. Great for young and old and there are also souvenirs to buy.

There is a small room with a beamer where a 10-minute film provides an introduction. The spacious car park makes it easy to get there and you can also enjoy a snack at the bar. A little further away is the Archeological Trail, where the sites are marked with plaques. It is definitely worth a visit for those who are interested. Afterwards, you can visit the ruins...