Molpír

Molpír is a low, wooded 354 m hill in the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty), right above the village of Smolenice in the Trnava Region of Slovakia. The summit is less than a kilometre from the village centre, and the well-known Smolenice Castle stands on the neighbouring hill. The nearest settlements are Smolenice (about 1 km), Trstín and Lošonec (3.5 km) and Buková (4 km). Molpír is remarkable not for its height but for what it hides: its top holds one of the most important prehistoric hillforts in Slovakia, later also a Slavic hillfort. The hill is protected as a national cultural monument.

How to get there / routes

• The Molpír educational trail crosses the summit, explaining the history of the hillfort and following the remains of the ramparts.
• The green Smolenice Karst educational trail and the blue trail KST 2412 pass close to the summit, so Molpír is easy to combine with a walk to Smolenice Castle and the karst surroundings.

The climb from Smolenice is short and suitable for families with children.

What you can see from the top

Forest covers the summit, so there are no wide panoramas. The main sight is the site itself: terraces, ramparts and rock outcrops that outline the ancient settlement, with Smolenice and the Trnava Upland glimpsed through the trees.

Nature and history

Around the 6th century BC, in the Early Iron Age (Hallstatt period), a large hillfort of 12–14 ha spread over the top of Molpír. It consisted of three courtyards protected by ramparts. The impressive fortifications were built of loosely laid stone strengthened with earth banks and timber structures. Archaeologists found foundations of towers, fortified gates and a round bastion. Along the inner side of the highest rampart ran a row of wooden log dwellings, and the best-protected upper courtyard, the "acropolis", held rows of terraces with houses.

The hillfort also had a cult site cut into the rock: it contained three sacrificial hearths, next to them the skull and bones of a child about two years old, and broken crescent-shaped and geometric idols. A human skull in the foundations of one house is further evidence of the cult. The settlement's economy rested on crafts – iron tools, weapons and knives, bronze casting and stone querns – but the most important seems to have been the production of yarn and cloth, the basis of its trade. Boat-shaped fibulae, pins, amber and glass beads show contacts with the advanced south-eastern Alpine world. At its peak about 800 people lived here.

The hillfort, at the meeting point of the Kalenderberg and Lusatian cultures, was destroyed at the beginning of the 6th century BC. Many metal arrowheads were found on both sides of the ramparts, yet the only proven victim was a defender killed in the third gate. The attackers used the same arrows as the defenders, so the hillfort was probably destroyed not by invaders from the east but by conflicts among local groups, linked to the emergence of the nomadic Vekerzug culture in the Carpathian Basin.

Safety, season and rules

The walk is easy and possible all year. Molpír is an archaeological monument: do not dig, do not use metal detectors and do not take any finds. Take care near the rock outcrops. In Slovakia the Mountain Rescue Service (HZS) operates: 18 300 (+421 18 300); the general emergency number is 112.

Interesting facts

• About 800 people lived on Molpír at its peak.
• Weaving was probably the hillfort's main craft.
• The only proven victim of its destruction is a defender in the third gate.

Photos: Rado Bahna, Public domain — Wikimedia Commons.