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Saint Ludmila - 1100 years since the death of the first Czech saint

This year marks 1100 years since the assassination of St Ludmila, the first Czech and Slavic saint, founder of the ruling dynasty and grandmother of the man who became the country’s patron, St Wenceslas. The preserved documents describe Princess Ludmila as a kind, merciful and zealously pious woman. Like her grandson St Wenceslas, who also died a martyr’s death, she was to symbolize the beginnings of Czech statehood.

  • St Ludmila Stained Glass in the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Olomouc

Saint Ludmila was born into a princely family around 860. Her father Slavibor ruled in one of the smaller principalities, either directly in Bohemia, probably at Pšov Castle in the vicinity of today’s town of Mělník, or in nearby Lužice. Ludmila was 15 when married to Duke Bořivoj, who was the ruler of Central Bohemia and perhaps, sources suggest, a leader recognized de facto throughout Bohemia.
Together with her husband, Ludmila was baptized and became one of the greatest movers of Czech history.
The emerging Czech state took up the path of Christianity.

Ludmila was soon widowed – her husband was not even 40 years old when he departed this life, leaving his wife with six children, only two of whom are known to history, her two sons: Spytihněv and Vratislav. In the complicated circumstances of the latter 9th century, Ludmila managed to sustain the family’s influence until her eldest heir, Spytihněv could take the reigns of power on his own. At that time, Bohemia had extricated itself somewhat from under the declining power of the Franconian and Moravian realms, and Spytihněv and his brother Vratislav consolidated the country’s place in the Christian world by building churches, which stand to this day, in Budeč (the Romanesque rotunda of St Peter and Paul) and in Prague (St George’s Basilica).

Yet Ludmila was soon to lose her sons, and had to get back into front-line politics. She became the governess of Wenceslas, her grandson, who was to rule in his father’s wake. However, disputes over upbringing and power led to a conflict with Wenceslas’ mother Drahomíra, the widow of Vratislav, who was then appointed regent. Ludmila tried to save herself from a drastic end by retreating to Tetín castle, either to stay in seclusion or planning to seek help from someone like her Bavarian allies. But her daughter-in-law’s two henchmen, Tuna and Gommon, possibly Norsemen, caught up with her in Tetín, and strangled the duchess with her scarf or veil.

Ludmila became a martyr and, after her grandson came to power, was declared a saint – aptly enough, since Wenceslas had her remains moved to Prague. Over time, a convent was established on her burial site, to be typically run by one of Přemyslid dynasty ladies, Ludmila’s descendants. Ludmila’s sainthood was formally endorsed in 1143 by the Papal Legate during his stay in Prague.
Ludmila became a patroness of Bohemia, of Přemyslid power, of educators and vintners. 

 

More information about St Ludmila, the places that bear her name, as well as the events held in Prague to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of her violent death, can be found on our topical page or on the web portal of the St Ludmila 1100 Years Association, which has been dedicated to the memory of St Ludmila since 2015.