Slavětice Motte

Welcome to the silence and tranquility of the Klánovice Forest. Stop for a moment, take a breath and look around you. You may feel that you are standing in the middle of an ordinary forest country where only the noise of leaves and the singing of birds rule, but you are actually in a place that once beat the heart of the whole neighborhood. You are standing in front of a monument called Slavětice. If you look closely in front of you, you'll see a terrain that isn't exactly straight. Notice the fine but still noticeable elevation that protruding from the surrounding surface. This very place, this fortress, is a silent witness to the centuries of history that have taken place here. In addition to this high rise, you will see a pond that at first sight acts as a natural part of the forest. But in this little water mirror, there's a trail of ancient defense architecture. It is very likely that this pond is the remnant of a moat that once surrounded and protected the fort from its enemies.

Let us now move together far further back in time, to a period where there were not thick forest hooks, but prosperous villages. The fortress in Slavtice was established at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Imagine the early Middle Ages when the landscape was full of small settlements and strategically located fortified settlements. Slavětice was not just an ordinary home, but it served as a centre of the whole village, as an administrative and safe point around which the life of the local people was organised. At that time, the fortress was a symbol of power, stability and protection. It was a time when the foundations of statehood were established in our countries, and noble families began to control the landscape through similar settlements like this.

Now pay attention to what you're seeing right now. Even though you no longer see any masonry, no walls or towers, the architecture of this place is still present, only in a different form. It's carved into the earth itself. What we see today as a mild hill was once a base for wooden or stone construction, which was raised above the surrounding area to have a better view and to be less accessible. Feel the atmosphere of this place and try to reconstruct in your mind what the moat of water must have looked like today representing the pond. The water was the best ally of the fortress builders at the time. A moat full of water created a natural barrier that was difficult to overcome while providing the population with a water source. So look at the shape of the terrain and remember that every metre of this country was once carefully thought out to serve defence and survival.

But who lived in these walls and who made the decisions here? The history of Slavetic is closely linked to important names and institutions. One of the key players was the powerful rod Hrabišických. The first written mention, which brings us back to 1227, tells us that rod Hrabišických donated the village of Slavětice to Zderaze in Prague. Imagine that moment eight centuries ago when property was being taken over and the inner medieval world was changing owners. The monastery at Zderaze was at that time an important spiritual and economic centre in Prague, and the fact that it got to the property of Slavetice points to the strategic value of this place. We know about the later flowering of the village and the local court from the 1349 documents, which was the time when the village was fully functional and integrated into the then social order. However, the owners changed over time. History leads us to 1543, when the fort was paid back after several changes in ownership. It is fascinating to think how many generations of people have lived here, how many property disputes have been resolved here and how many quiet conversations have taken place in premises that are today represented only by grass and trees.

Now I want to invite you to think about one interesting thing that makes this place a real mystery. Slavětice was once a living village with its own centre in the form of a fortress, but today there are almost no traces of it all over the village, except for this fortress. Where did people go? Where are the houses, roads and gardens that had to surround this high ground? Nature took back Slavětice with incredible efficiency. What was once a noisy centre with economic courting and people turned into a quiet refuge of the Klánovice Forest. This transformation from civilization back into the wilderness is fascinating. You are standing in a place that is protected as an archaeological cultural monument precisely because the information that the books may not tell us remains in the given country. Every stone that may lie hidden beneath a layer of leaves, and every crease of the terrain is a piece of a puzzle that archaeologists still slowly compose.

Stop for a moment in complete silence. Try to forget about the modern world, about the noise of the city and everything that employs you today. Imagine you hear the horse-picking, the calling of people in the fields and the sound of water in the ditch. Can you feel the contrast between the activity at the time and today's calm? It is in this contrast that the spell of Slavetic lies. It's a place where history didn't just become a text in the textbook, it became part of the landscape.

Now that you've come to know the story of this forgotten mansion, I suggest you slowly go around the hill. Notice how the view of the pond changes and how the terrain gradually converts. Try to imagine where the roads lead to the area and where the entrance to the fort could have been. Let yourself be guided by your imagination and perceive the energy of this place that once dominated the surrounding landscape.

Thank you for accompanying me on this short trip to the depths of time. I hope you have found some peace in the Celestis and that you are interested in this story about the House of Hrabiski and the monastery of Zderaze. Now you can continue to explore the beauty of Klánovický Forest. Let us guide you through paths, look for further traces of the past and enjoy the clean air and the silence of nature. I wish you a pleasant continued journey and a beautiful day spent in the embrace of history. Goodbye.