Bořivoj I, Duke of Bohemia
Bořivoj I was the first documented Duke of Bohemia and progenitor of the Přemyslid dynasty. His reign over the Duchy of Bohemia is believed to have started about the year 870, but in this era Bohemia was subordinated to Great Moravia. One of the most important clues to the approximate time of his accession is the contemporary Frankish chronicle Annales Fuldenses, which mentions several West Slavic princes in the year 872, among them one Goriwei, who may be identical with Bořivoj. According to the early 12th-century Chronica Boëmorum, Bořivoj was a son of the legendary Bohemian prince Hostivít, thus a descendant of Queen Libuše and her husband Přemysl the Ploughman, his ancestry has not been conclusively established by historians, however. In view of his dependence on Great Moravia, he might have been related by blood to the Mojmir dynasty. Bořivoj resided at Levý Hradec, a gord situated northwest of present-day Prague; as the head of the Přemyslids who dominated the Central Bohemian environs, Bořivoj declared himself kníže - in Latin dux, which means a sovereign prince - around the year 867 AD.
His title was translated by German scholars as "duke" of the Bohemians. Although the rulers of the German stem duchies emerging in the late 9th century held the same title, the meaning of his title was in fact different. In contrast to the German dukes who acted as the representatives of higher rulers, the Czech dux denoted a sovereign ruler. Bořivoj was recognised as such around 872 by his overlord King Svatopluk I of Moravia, who dispatched Bishop Methodius of Thessalonica to begin the Christianization of Bohemia. In 872, Bořivoj supported Svatopluk militarily in his dispute with the East Frankish king Louis the German, in south Bohemia, they defeated the Frankish troops. About 874, Bořivoj married Ludmila; the couple had Spytihněv and Vratislaus, both of whom succeeded him as dukes. Ludmila and Bořivoj were baptised by Methodius, the latter became an enthusiastic evangelist, although the religion failed to take root among Bořivoj's subjects. In the years 883/884 Bořivoj was deposed by a revolt in support of his Přemyslid kinsman Strojmír.
He was restored in 885 only with the support of his suzerain Svatopluk of Moravia. The duke or his son Spytihněv moved his residence to the Hradčany mountain and laid the foundations for Prague Castle; when Bořivoj died about 889, his sons still minors, King Svatopluk concluded an agreement with the East Frankish ruler Arnulf of Carinthia and took over the rule of the Bohemian duchy himself. As with most of the early Bohemian rulers, Bořivoj is a shadowy figure. Nonetheless, several major fortifications and religious foundations are said to have dated from this time
Promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water. Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the softer rock to the sides of it, or are the high ground that remains between two river valleys where they form a confluence. Throughout history many forts and castles have been built on promontories because of their inherent defensibility; the promontory forts in Ireland are examples of this. The ancient town of Ras Bar Balla in southern Somalia, which in the Middle Ages was part of the Ajuran Sultanate's domain, was built on a small promontory. River confluences provide an added defensive advantage to promontories, acting as a reliable natural moat for the enemy to overcome; the Citadel of Namur, a prime fortified location from the 10th century to this day, lies on the promontory at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers in the Walloon capital city of Namur, Belgium. Another good example of a confluence promontory fort is Fort Pitt, an English fort during the American Revolution that had belonged to the French as Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War.
The surrounding location is known as the city of Pennsylvania. Headlands and bays Promontory fort Law Promontory Promontory, Utah Monte Argentario Promontory Point, Utah Rabbit's Back Wilsons Promontory Bol, Croatia The dictionary definition of promontory at Wiktionary
Adalbert of Prague
Adalbert of Prague. He was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians and Prussians, martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians to Christianity, he is said to be the composer of the oldest Czech hymn Hospodine, pomiluj ny and Bogurodzica, the oldest known Polish hymn, but the authorship has not confirmed. St. Adalbert was declared the patron saint of the Czech Republic and the former polity of Prussia, he is the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Esztergom. Born as Vojtěch in 952 or ca. 956 in Libice, he belonged to the Slavnik clan, one of the two most powerful families in Bohemia. Bohemian priest Cosmas of Prague recorded events from his life, his father was a duke ruling a province centred at Libice. His mother was Střezislava, according to David Kalhous belonged to the Přemyslid dynasty, he had five brothers: Soběslav, Spytimír, Dobroslav, Pořej, Čáslav. Cosmas refers to Radim as a brother. After he survived a grave illness in childhood, his parents decided to dedicate him to the service of God.
Adalbert was well educated, having studied for ten years in Magdeburg under the tutelage of St. Adalbert of Magdeburg; the young Vojtěch took his tutor's name "Adalbert" at his Confirmation. In 981 St. Adalbert of Magdeburg died, his young protege Adalbert returned to Bohemia. Bishop Dietmar of Prague ordained him a Roman Catholic priest. In 982, Bishop Dietmar died, Adalbert, despite being under canonical age, was chosen to succeed him as Bishop of Prague. Amiable and somewhat worldly, he was not expected to trouble the secular powers by making excessive claims for the Church. Although Adalbert was from a wealthy family, he avoided comfort and luxury, was noted for his charity and austerity. After six years of prayer and preaching, he had made little headway in evangelizing the Bohemians, who maintained embedded pagan beliefs. Adalbert opposed the participation of Christians in the slave trade and complained of polygamy and idolatry, which were common among the people. Once he started to propose reforms he was met with opposition from both the secular powers and the clergy.
His family refused to support Duke Boleslaus in an unsuccessful war against Poland. Adalbert was no longer welcome and forced into exile. In 990 he went to Rome, he lived as a hermit at the Benedictine monastery of Saint Alexis. Five years Boleslaus requested that the Pope send Adalbert back to Prague, in hopes of securing his family's support. Pope John XV agreed, with the understanding that Adalbert was free to leave Prague if he continued to encounter entrenched resistance. Adalbert returned as bishop of Prague, where he was received with demonstrations of apparent joy. and founded a monastery in Břevnov near the City, it being the first monastery in the Czech territory. In 995, the Slavniks' former rivalry with the Přemyslids, who were allied with the powerful Bohemian clan of the Vršovcis, resulted in the storming of the Slavnik town of Libice nad Cidlinou, led by the Přemyslid Boleslaus II the Pious. During the struggle four or five of Adalbert's brothers were killed; the Zličan principality became part of the Přemyslids' estate.
Adalbert unsuccessfully attempted to protect a noblewoman caught in adultery. She had fled to a convent. In upholding the right of sanctuary, Bishop Adalbert responded by excommunicating the murderers. Butler suggests. After this, Adalbert escaped from Prague. Strachkvas was appointed to be his successor. However, Strachkvas died during the liturgy at which he was to accede to his episcopal office in Prague; the cause of his death is still ambiguous. The Pope directed Adalbert to resume his see, but believing that he would not be allowed back, he requested a brief as an itinerant missionary. Adalbert traveled to Hungary and baptized Géza of Hungary and his son Stephen in Esztergom, he went to Poland where he was cordially welcomed by then-Duke Boleslaus I and installed as Bishop of Gniezno. Adalbert again relinquished his diocese, namely that of Gniezno, set out as a missionary to preach to the inhabitants near Prussia. Bolesław I, Duke of Poland, sent soldiers with Adalbert on his mission to the Prussians.
The Bishop and his companions, including his half-brother Radim, entered Prussian territory and traveled along the coast of the Baltic Sea to Gdańsk. Success attended his efforts at first, but his imperious manner in commanding the people to abandon paganism irritated them, at the instigation of one of the pagan priests he was murdered on 23 April 997 on the Baltic Sea coast east of Truso or near Tenkitten and Fischhausen, it is recorded. A few years after his martyrdom, Adalbert was canonized as St. Adalbert of Prague, his life was written in Vita Sancti Adalberti Pragensis by various authors, the earliest being traced to imperial Aachen and the Bishop of Liège, Notger von Lüttich, although it was assumed that the Roman monk John Canaparius wrote the first Vita in 999. Another famous biographer of St. Adalbert was St. Bruno of Querfurt who wrote a hagiography of him in 1001-4. Notably, the Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia
Vltava
The Vltava is the longest river within the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, merging with the Elbe at Mělník. It is referred to as the "Bohemian sea" and the "Czech national river"; the Vltava river is 430.3 kilometres long and drains an area 28,090 square kilometres in size, over half of Bohemia and about a third of the Czech Republic's entire territory. As it runs through Prague, the river is crossed by 18 bridges and covers 31 kilometres within the city; the water from the river was used for drinking until 1912, when the Vinohrady Water Tower ceased pumping operations. It is, the source of drinking water in case of failures/repairs to the water supply from the Želivka and Kárané sources; the Podolí water processing plant is on standby for such cases with the long section of the river upstream of the Podolí plant under the stricter, second degree of pollution prevention regulations. Several dams were built on it in the 1950s.
The Orlík Dam supports the largest reservoir on the Vltava by volume, while the Lipno Dam in the Bohemian Forest retains the largest reservoir by area. South of Prague the Štěchovice Reservoir has been built over the site of the St John's Rapids; the river features numerous locks and weirs that help mitigate its flow from 1,172 metres in elevation at its source near the German border to 155 metres at its mouth in Mělník. The height difference from source to mouth is about 1,016 metres and the largest stream at the source is named Černý Potok; the Vltava itself originates by a confluence of two streams, the Warm Vltava, longer, the Cold Vltava, sourcing in Bavaria. Along its course, Vltava receives many tributaries, the biggest being Otava and Berounka from the left and Lužnice and Sázava from the right side, its section around Český Krumlov is a popular destination of water tourism. Both the Czech name Vltava and the German name Moldau are believed to originate from the old Germanic words *wilt ahwa.
In the Annales Fuldenses it is called Fuldaha. In the Chronica Boemorum it is attested for the first time in its Bohemian form as Wlitaua; the Vltava basin has flooded multiple times throughout recorded history. Markers have been created along the banks denoting the water line for notable floods in 1784, 1845, 1890, 1940, the highest of all in 2002. In August of that year, the basin was affected by the 2002 European floods when the flooded river killed several people and caused massive damage and disruption along its length, including in Prague, it left the oldest bridge in Prague, Charles Bridge weakened, requiring years of work to repair. Prague was again flooded in 2013. Many locations within the Vltava and Elbe basins were left under water, including the Prague Zoo, but metal barriers were erected along the banks of the Vltava to help protect the historic city centre. Nine hydroelectric dams have been built on the Vltava to regulate the water flow and generate hydroelectric power. Beginning at the headwaters, these are: Lipno, Lipno II, Hněvkovice, Kořensko, Orlík, Kamýk, Slapy, Štěchovice and Vrané.
One of the best-known works of classical music by a Czech composer is Bedřich Smetana's Vltava called The Moldau in English. It is from the Romantic era of classical music and is a musical description of the river's course through Bohemia. A minor planet 2123 Vltava discovered in 1973 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh is named after the river. Smetana's symphonic poem inspired a song of the same name by Bertolt Brecht. An English version of it, by John Willett, features the lyrics Deep down in the Moldau the pebbles are shifting / In Prague three dead emperors moulder away. Moldavite Geographic data related to Vltava at OpenStreetMap
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, the 14th largest city in the European Union and the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 2.6 million. The city has a temperate climate, with chilly winters. Prague has been a political and economic centre of central Europe complete with a rich history. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic and Baroque eras, Prague was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the main residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably of Charles IV, it was an important city to its Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia, during both World Wars and the post-war Communist era. Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe.
Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites; the city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an "Alpha −" global city according to GaWC studies and ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016, its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination and as of 2017, the city receives more than 8.5 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fourth most visited European city after London and Rome. During the thousand years of its existence, the city grew from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to the fort of Vyšehrad in the south, becoming the capital of a modern European country, the Czech Republic, a member state of the European Union.
The region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. A Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c. 1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. Around the fifth and fourth century BC, a Celts tribe appeared in the area establishing settlements including an oppidum in Závist, a present-day suburb of Prague, naming the region of Bohemia, which means "home of the Boii people". In the last century BC, the Celts were driven away by Germanic tribes, leading some to place the seat of the Marcomanni king, Maroboduus, in southern Prague in the suburb now called Závist. Around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map drawn by Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis. In the late 5th century AD, during the great Migration Period following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes living in Bohemia moved westwards and in the 6th century, the Slavic tribes settled the Central Bohemian Region.
In the following three centuries, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in the Šárka valley and Levý Hradec. The construction of what came to be known as Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, growing a fortified settlement that existed on the site since the year 800; the first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, some 70 years than Prague Castle. Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which began construction in 1344, but wasn't completed until the 20th century; the legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, founder of the Přemyslid dynasty. Legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars." She ordered a town called Praha to be built on the site.
The region became the seat of the dukes, kings of Bohemia. Under Holy Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973; until Prague was elevated to archbishopric in 1344, it was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Mainz. Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from all of Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveller Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub; the Old New Synagogue of 1270 still stands in the city. Prague was once home to an important slave market. At the site of the ford in the Vltava river, King Vladislaus I had the first bridge built in 1170, the Judith Bridge, named in honour of his wife Judith of Thuringia; this bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1342, but some of the original foundation stones of that bridge remain in the river. It was named the Charles Bridge. In 1257, under King Ottokar II, Malá Strana was founded in Prague on the site of an older village in what would become the Hradčany area; this was the district of the German people, who had the right to administer the law autonomously, pursuant to Magdeburg rights.
The new district was on the bank opposite of the Staré Město, which had borough status and was bordered by a line of walls and fortifications. Prague flourished dur
Přemyslid dynasty
The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid was a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia, as well as in parts of Poland and Austria. The dynasty's origin dates back to the 9th century, when the Přemyslids ruled a tiny territory around Prague, populated by the Czech tribe of the Western Slavs, they expanded, conquering the region of Bohemia, located in the Bohemian basin where it was not threatened by the expansion of the Frankish Empire. The first historically-documented Přemyslid duke was Bořivoj I. In the following century, the Přemyslids ruled over Silesia and founded the city of Wroclaw, derived from the name of a Bohemian duke, Vratislaus I, father of Saint Wenceslaus. Under the reign of Prince Boleslaus I the Cruel and his son Boleslaus II the Pious, the Přemyslids ruled territory stretching to today's Belarus; the dynasty controlled vital trade routes during this time. The Bohemian lands and Prague were an important center of trade where merchants from all of Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveller Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub.
He wrote, "Prague is a city from the stone, the richest of all states north of the Alps." After their rise to prominence, struggles within the family set in motion a decline in power and, in 1002, the Polish duke Boleslaus the Brave occupied Prague. Boleslaus III, son of Boleslaus II, escaped from Bohemia; the decline ended in the reign of Prince Bretislaus I, grandson of Boleslaus II. He in turn looted Poland, including the cities of Krakow and Gniezno, where he obtained the relics of St. Adalbert, he sought the establishment of a royal title. His son and successor Vratislaus II became the first King of Bohemia in 1085. Vratislav's son Sobeslaus I destroyed the Imperial army of King Lothar III in the Battle of Chlumec in 1126; this allowed a further strengthening of Bohemia, culminating during the reign of Vratislav's grandson, King Vladislaus II. Vladislav II founded many monasteries and built the first stone bridge across the Vltava river, one of the earliest in Central and Northern Europe. Once again, internal struggles started the decline of the Přemyslids.
Many leaders from the dynasty alternated on the Bohemian throne, leading to their eventual bankruptcy. On his ascension to the throne, Ottokar I began a series of changes that brought Bohemia out of crisis, began a period of success that lasted for nearly 220 years. Ottokar I became the third King of Bohemia in the year 1198 but was the first King of Bohemia to acquire a hereditary royal title; this began significant growth of the Přemyslids' dynastic power. There was a large urban and crafts development in Bohemia. In the second half of the 13th century, the Přemyslids were one of the most powerful dynasties in Central Europe. King Přemysl Ottokar II, son of Wenceslas I, earned the nickname "Iron and Golden King" because of his military power and wealth. After several victorious wars with the Hungarian Kingdom, he acquired Austria, Styria and Carniola, extending Bohemian territory to the Adriatic Sea. King Ottokar II aspired to the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire, his ambitions started the conflict with House of Habsburg, who were, until little-known princes, which suited the interests of German noble Houses better than the mighty king Ottokar.
The representative of Habsburgs Rudolf was elected as King of Romans. In the Battle of Marchfeld, Ottokar clashed with Imperial and Hungarian armies yet he was killed in battle himself; the Habsburgs acquired Austria. Ottokar's son King Wenceslaus II was just seven. Over time, thanks to deft diplomacy, he gained the Polish crown for himself and the crown of Hungary for his son. Wenceslas II brought together a vast empire stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Danube river and established numerous cities, among them Plzeň in 1295. Bohemia became a wealthy nation during his reign thanks to a large vein of silver at Kutná Hora, he introduced the silver Prague groschen, an important European currency for centuries, planned to build the first university in Central Europe. The power and wealth of the Kingdom of Bohemia gave rise to great respect, but to the hostility of other European royal families; the dynasty began to collapse following the untimely death of Wenceslaus II, the assassination of his only son, Wenceslaus III in 1306, which ended their rule.
On the distaff side, the dynasty continued, in 1355, Bohemian king Charles IV, the grandson of Wenceslaus II, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. The name of the dynasty, according to Cosmas in his Chronica Boemorum, comes from its legendary founder, Přemysl, husband of duchess Libuše. Přemysl and Libuše Nezamysl Mnata Vojen Vnislav Křesomysl Neklan Hostivít The first historical Přemyslid was Duke Bořivoj I, baptised in 874 by Saint Methodius. In 895, Bohemia gained independence from Great Moravia. Between 1003 and 1004, Bohemia was controlled by Boleslaus the Brave, Duke of Poland from the Piast dynasty, grandson of Boleslaus I the Cruel. In 1085, Duke Vratislaus II, and, in 1158, Duke Vladislaus II, were crowned King of Bohemia as a personal award from the Holy Roman Emperor; the title, was not hereditary. Bořivoj I Spytihněv I Vratislaus I Saint Wenceslaus Boleslaus I the Cruel Boleslaus II the Pious Boleslaus III the Red-haired Vladivoj (1002–1003
Roztoky
Roztoky is a small town in the Czech Republic. It is located on the Vltava River, just north of the country's capital. There were 8,208 inhabitants registered in the town, as of 1 January 2016. However, the actual population might be higher due to significant development of the town in the recent years and the fact that many of the new inhabitants might not have registered their permanent residence there yet; the town was first mentioned in historical documents in 1233 CE. Lubomír Beneš - animator, author František August Brauner - lawyer, politician Zdenka Braunerová - painter, graphic designer Joe Hloucha - explorer, writer Albín Bráf - politician, journalist, professor Čeněk Rýzner - doctor, explorer Emil Utitz - philosopher, psychologist Levý Hradec Roztoky Roztoky.com Středočeské muzeum SK Roztoky Sokol Roztoky Green party Roztoky This article was translated from Czech wikipedia
