Príbeh gravettienskej venuše z Moravian nad Váhom – Podkovice a plastiky z Moravian nad Váhom – Lopaty

The Gravettian figurine of a woman from Moravany nad Váhom – Podkovica (district Piešťany) is a rare artistic expression of a person from the Upper Palaeolithic not only in Slovakia but also in Europe and the world. Archaeologist Juraj Bárta played a significant role in its rediscovery and return to Slovakia. Although farmer Štefan Hulman-Petrech found the Venus before 1930, its existence remained unknown in former Czechoslovakia until 1958. Before World War II, and also during it, German archaeologist Lothar Friedrich Zotz participated in archaeological research in Moravany nad Váhom. He did not discover the famous Moravany Venus, but it came into his hands through the factory owner Bernhard Germann. Additionally, in 1943 L. Zotz found another sculpture at the nearby site of Moravany nad Váhom – Lopata, which could also be a statue of a woman. The circumstances of the find were never published. It is interesting not only to remember but also to explain the stories of the Venus from Podkovica and the statuette from Lopata.