Libice nad Cidlinou, Nymburk dist., Central Bohemian Region
Early Medieval hillfort
(9th–11th cent.)
Acropolis of the hillfort from the east.
Photo J. Mařík, 2014.
The Early Medieval stronghold of the 9th to 11th century was the scene of several important events in the early Czech history. Thanks to the chronicler Cosmas of Prague, Libice is regarded as the birthplace of St Adalbert and the seat of his father Slavník. Although most members of the Slavník family were to have been murdered at the site in 995, archaeological finds do not document a tragedy of such scope and/or any destruction of the site as a whole. More likely it was a raid by a small group of soldiers belonging to the Přemyslids, after which the stronghold remained in operation as an administrative centre until the beginning of the 12th century. Especially unique is the ground plan of the church in the acropolis, which has its closest parallels in Saxon Ottonian architecture. A cemetery and a ‘palace’ structure were discovered around the church.
References: Princová – Mařík 2006; Mařík 2009.
Navigation points: N 50°07'37.66", E 15°10'26.39".
Map notes: A – acropolis; B – bailey; C – open Early Medieval settlement; D, F – extensive cemeteries; E – small open Early Medieval settlement site hidden in the floodplain forest; G – today´s rectory, near the site where the miraculous recovery of St Adalbert would have occurred; H – archaeological exhibition at the Town Hall; J – remains of ramparts. Map symbols are available in the Downloads section.
Selected fulltext articles and reports for further reading. Complete bibliographical records are available in the Downloads section as the List of publications.
Archeologický atlas Čech – Libice nad CidlinouPrincová, J. – Mařík, J. 2006: Libice nad Cidlinou – stav a perspektivy výzkumu, Archeologické rozhledy 58/4, 643–664.Sklenář, K. 2006: Říp mountain at the beginnings of Czech archaeology. In: J. Maříková‐Kubková – N. Schlanger – S. Lévin, Sites of memory. Between Scientific Research and Collective Representations, Proceedings of the AREA seminarat Prague Castle, February 2006, Castrum Pragense 8, Praha: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 47–55.