The First Permanent Settlement in the Modern Czech Republic Territory
The archeological remains that were found in the Bohemian basin, serve as an evidence of the settlement founded in this area half a million years ago.
Hundreds of thousands of years later, the Czech territory had been inhabited by Boii Celtic tribe. Romans named the Czech land “Boiohaemum” (Bohemia) after this tribe, as the river that flows through this land was named Vltava – “Wild Water” in the Celtic dialect.
In the 1st century, the new inhabitants invaded the Czech territory: Germanic Marcomanni and Quadi tribes. Most of the Celtic tribe’s members have escaped the region.
The Slavic colonization in the Czech land had continued during 400 years between 2rd to the 6th centuries AD. While the Germanic tribes were abandoning the territory, the Slavic tribes that arrived in several waves of migration have built new settlements, and by the 6th century, most inhabitants in the region were Slavs.
The founding of the first Slavic Kingdom is described by two widely known Czech legends. According to one of them, the three Slavic Countries – Russia, Czech and Poland were established by three brothers: Rus, Czech and Lech, respectively. According to the second one, the capital city of Prague was a vision of its founder, the princess Libuše who chose a simple ploughman as her husband.
Besides the legends, there is a solid historical evidence of Samo, a Frank merchant who became the first Slavic ruler in Bohemia between the years 623 – 658. Under his rule, the Slavic tribes fought against the Franks and the Asian tribe of Avars. After his death, the first Slavic Kingdom had disappeared for the next 150 years.
Between the years 768 – 814 the Frank King Charles the Great, who revived the title “Hole Roman Emperor”, reestablished the Slavic Kingdom.
Historical evidences of the exact timing of Great Moravian Empire’s founding are fuzzy, but it all is supposed to be in the 9th century. The first Great Moravian leader was the King Svatupluk I. Under his rule the Kingdom had reached its maximum territorial growth. He annexed to the Great Moravian Empire many neighbouring Slavic lands: Vistulans, Silesia, the western part of Hungary, Tisza basin, Balaton, whole Bohemia and Lusatian Serbia.
The Great Moravian Empire was the first state in the European territory to accept Christianity. In 863, two Slav speaking missionaries, Cyril and Methodius, came from the Byzantine to Moravia in order to spread Christianity and the written word to the Slavs. Some architectural evidences of that period could be seen in the modern capital of Prague, such as the Romanesque basilicas on Rip Hill and at Vyšehrad.
The initial foundation of the city of Prague’s dates back to latter part of the 9th century, when Vyšehrad(”High Castle”) was built on the right bank of the Vltava. At the same time, Prague became a residence of the Bohemian Kings.
By the end of the 9th century, the head of the Přemyslid dynasty Bořivoj declared himself as a Duke and was recognised as such by Svatopluk the 1st. The legend describes him as a son of Hostivít, a Bohemian prince. The ruler Bořivoj and his wife Ludmilla accepted Christianity during the mission of Cyril and Methodius in Bohemia. Bořivoj and Ludmila gave birth to the Prince Vratislav.
Bořivoj abandoned Vyšehrad in favor of a fortress established in Levý Hradec and transferred it later to Hradčani. The rule of Přemyslid dynasty continued till the beginning of the 14th century.
