In the ninth century this was the middle of a state, not its edge. Mikulčice, on the Moravian bank a few kilometres away, was one of the great strongholds of Great Moravia — the first state built by Slavs in this region — and quite possibly the seat of its princes; excavation there has uncovered a palace and the foundations of about a dozen churches on a fortified island in the marshes. Kopčany, the next village past Holíč, belonged to that same settlement zone, and its little church of St Margaret still stands: archaeologists argue for a Great Moravian origin, and while the dating is genuinely disputed, no other standing building in Slovakia has a stronger claim. When Great Moravia collapsed early in the tenth century the centre of gravity moved away, and this became frontier country instead.V deviatom storočí to bol stred štátu, nie jeho okraj. Mikulčice na moravskom brehu, pár kilometrov odtiaľto, boli jedným z veľkých hradísk Veľkej Moravy — prvého štátu, ktorý si v tomto priestore postavili Slovania — a celkom možno aj sídlom jej kniežat; výskum tam odkryl palác a základy asi tucta kostolov na opevnenom ostrove medzi močiarmi. Kopčany, hneď za Holíčom, patrili do tej istej sídelnej oblasti a ich kostolík svätej Margity dodnes stojí: archeológovia mu pripisujú veľkomoravský pôvod, a hoci je datovanie naozaj sporné, nijaká iná stojaca stavba na Slovensku nemá silnejší nárok. Keď sa Veľká Morava začiatkom desiateho storočia rozpadla, ťažisko sa presunulo inam a z tohto kraja sa stalo pohraničie.
