In ancient times, when the Czech land was still wild and people lived in reverence for ancient gods and spirits, strong fortified settlements stood on a high rock above the Vltava River. There, on Vyšehrad, resided the wise Princess Libuše, daughter of the mighty Duke Krok and sister of the keen Kazi and the pious Teta. Libuše was a woman of extraordinary spirit, endowed with a rare prophetic gift, which a prophetic spirit from the depths of the earth inspired in her. She knew the future and could justly resolve even the most intricate disputes, for which her people loved and honored her.

However, the day came when the people began to demand a male ruler. “Princess,” they said, “your judgments are wise, but a man’s hand is needed for governance, to lead the land with a firm hand.” Libuše, though initially saddened by their distrust, understood their call. She ascended the rocky precipice of Vyšehrad, from where a view of the wide landscape opened before her, and with her eyes fixed on the horizon, she uttered her famous words, which echoed through the Vltava valley like an echo of ancient times:

“I see a great city, whose glory will touch the stars! There, where from the Strahov forest you look down upon the Vltava and where the Brusnice stream flows, you will find a man who is hewing a threshold. On this spot, above the Vltava River, where ancient trees conceal a sacred place with the shining silver head of the god Perun, you will build a castle and a city. And because the man you find there is hewing a threshold, you will call that city Prague.”

After these words, Princess Libuše sent her messengers to find that man. “Go,” she told them, “and let yourselves be guided by my prophetic horse, for he alone knows the way to the ruler destined by fate.” And so the messengers set out on their journey, followed by Libuše’s miraculous horse, which led them tirelessly over mountains and valleys, forests and streams, until they reached a small village named Stadice.

There, in the middle of a field, they found a simple farmer ploughing his land. It was Přemysl the Ploughman. When the messengers arrived, Přemysl had just stopped his plough and was preparing for lunch. However, before he sat down to rest, he took an axe and began to hew a threshold for his modest cottage, for the old one was already falling apart. And at that moment, the messengers approached him and told him Libuše’s prophecy and her wish for him to become her husband and prince of the Czech people.

Přemysl, though surprised, recognized the will of the gods in their words. Before he set out, he turned over his plough and said: “Remember, from now on, the Czech people will never lack bread, as long as this plough rests in the ground.” Afterward, he set off with the messengers to Vyšehrad, where Libuše joyfully accepted him as her husband.

On the spot where Přemysl was found hewing a threshold, and which Libuše described in her prophecy – that is, on the future Hradčany, above the Vltava and the Brusnice stream – a mighty castle was soon built, and around it a city began to grow, named after Přemysl’s deed – Prague.

Princess Libuše, knowing that her destiny was fulfilled, and that a new ruler and a city that would flourish for ages had been given to the land, died shortly thereafter. However, she left behind not only Prague and her husband Přemysl, with whom she had a son, Nezamysl, the founder of the glorious Přemyslid dynasty, which ruled the Czech land for centuries. She also left other prophecies and hopes. She submerged her son Nezamysl’s golden cradle into the Vltava River with the prediction that it would resurface when better times came for the Czech nation. And indeed, the cradle resurfaced during the reign of Emperor Charles IV. And to this day, tales are told of a treasure hidden deep within the Vyšehrad rock, which is said to appear in times of greatest hardship and scarcity to help the Czech people.

Thus Prague was founded, a city whose glory touches the stars, and thus began the rule of the Přemyslids, a dynasty that arose from a simple ploughman to rule the land for centuries, always under the protection of the wise Princess Libuše’s prophecy.