Budeč was an early medieval settlement in

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, ( cs, České knížectví) was a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 b ...

within the modern

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It was a gord founded by the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1 ...

. It is connected with presence of

St. Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

. Today it is known as a place with the oldest preserved building in the country, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

Location

Budeč is located on a hill in what is today the municipality of Zákolany in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

, about northwest of Prague. The remains of the gord have an area of . It makes Budeč one of the largest early medieval settlements in the country.

History

According to archaeological findings, the hill was inhabited already in prehistoric times. The oldest evidence of the settlement comes from the period dating from the Middle Bronze Age and Knovíz culture of the Late Bronze Age. The first wall in the Slavic period was built right on the remains of prehistoric walls in the 9th century AD, perhaps by the Duke Bořivoj I. The written sources show that at the end of 9th and at the beginning of 10th century Budeč belonged to the main bases of

. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is a rotunda built by the Duke Spytihněv I after the year 895. Its

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

is the oldest standing building in the country. Budeč was the place where Saint Wenceslaus (

Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

) stayed in his youth. According to "St. Wenceslaus legends", he lived here and learned the basics of education, reading Latin books and singing

psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

. The last mention of Budeč is from the second half of the 13th century, when Queen

Kunigunda of Halych Kunigunda Rostislavna (1245 – 9 September 1285; Czech: ''Kunhuta Uherská'' or ''Kunhuta Haličská'') was Queen consort of Bohemia and its regent from 1278 until her death. She was a member of the House of Chernigov, and a daughter of Rosti ...

donated Budeč to the

Vyšehrad Chapter The Vyšehrad Chapter ( cs, Vyšehradská kapitula), officially the Royal Collegiate Chapter of Ss. Peter and Paul at Vyšehrad ( cs, Královská kolegiátní kapitula sv. Petra a Pavla na Vyšehradě), is a collegiate chapter established at the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budec (Kladno District) Former populated places in the Czech Republic Populated places in Kladno District