(source: Vladimír Miček TASR)
The construction of a bridge between Moravian Mikulčice and Slovak Kopčany above the Morava river has started.
Both the Slovak and Moravian banks of the river will be connected by the 143 metres long bridge suitable for pedestrians and cyclists. Even though the towns are only about 5 kilometres away from each other, there is no straight connection between them at present. The shortest way takes about three and half hours on foot.
Josef Viskupič, head of the Trnava Self-governing region said that he views the bridge in three ways – as a continuation of the common history of the Czechs and Slovaks, as marking the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Czechoslovakia and as an important project for the development of tourism.
The first attempt to build a bridge started in 2006 when the mayors of both towns decided to have a go.
“I consider the bridge to be an important connection for our two regions,” said Bohumil Šimek from the Juhomoravský region, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
The current mayor of Kopčany, Dušan Dubecký has held his seat since 1998 and he was the one who first had the idea to build the bridge.
“It has been 12 years since we first started, hopefully, it will go faster now,” he said, as quoted by TASR, adding that cooperation between the regions will be better thanks to the bridge.
The place, where the bridge will be, is currently a nesting site for precious the black stork. Therefore, it is impossible to work on the construction for some months, but it should be finished by the end of August 2019.
Visitors to Kopčany are usually seeking spiritual monuments such as the Church of Saint Margaret of Antioch but there is also a baroque stud-farm there.
The church used to be part of the Slavic fortified settlement, now divided by the Morava River. The main part of the settlement is in Mikulčice, in the Czech Republic.
This was one of the main centres of Great Moravia in the 9th and 10th centuries. Apart from the foundation of a count’s palace, so far the only uncovered secular stone building from the Great-Moravian era, there are foundations of 12 stone churches, a burial site, the remnants of a massive fortification wall, and bridges.
