After almost 1000 years, remains of Olomouc's Přemyslid rulers identified and laid to rest

After seven years of research, scientists have confirmed the origin of human remains found in a mysterious chest in a church in Olomouc – they belonged to the city’s ancient Přemyslid rulers.

In the history of Bohemia and Moravia, ‘Přemyslid’ is a term that looms large. Believed to be named after their legendary ancestor, Přemysl the Ploughman, the Přemyslids were a royal dynasty that emerge as the rulers of Bohemia in the earliest pages of recorded Czech history. They transitioned from dukes to kings at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and their power was by no means limited to Bohemia. At different times they exerted control over parts of Poland, Austria and Hungary, and the region of Moravia was a consistent component of their kingdom.

Remains of the Přemyslids of Olomouc|Photo: Olomouc Museum of Art

It was not only Prague, their original base of operation, that the Přemyslids developed as a city; Olomouc, today one of the main cities of Moravia, owes a great deal to them too. Otto I of Olomouc was a prince and a member of the dynasty who governed the city from 1061 to 1087. Almost a thousand years later, his bones and those of other local Přemyslids have been found, identified and buried with honour.

The rediscovery of the remains of the Olomouc Přemyslids started when their bones were found in an old chest walled up in the sacristy of the Church of St. Stephen in the grounds of the Premonstratensian Hradisko Monastery, north of the centre of Olomouc. The identification of the remains took seven years, and was carried out by a team from the Archaeological Institute of the Academy of Sciences, led by archaeologist Jan Frolík.

Jan Frolík |Photo: Michael Erhart, Czech Radio

“I would probably characterise it as a story with a happy ending. At the beginning we had a pile of bones that were assumed to be Olomouc Přemyslids, and at the end we have five of those seven individuals clearly identified. We know that they are Olomouc Přemyslids and we can add that they are the only Moravian Přemyslids whose remains we have available today and know about.”

The significance of the archaeological find was also confirmed by Simona Jemelková, curator of the Archdiocesan Museum in Olomouc.

The remains of the Přemyslids were buried during a special funeral mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Olomouc Josef Nuzík|Photo: Blanka Mazalová, Czech Radio

“It is amazing that here in Moravia, for centuries – not only the Premonstratensians, but also the people of Olomouc themselves – were aware of the importance of these princes for the Czech state, and protected their remains. Thanks to this, they have been preserved to this day. It is precisely in these difficult times, when it is important to return to one’s roots and history, that for something like this to be discovered is the most valuable and interesting for me. Even present-day people have contributed to the huge number of people who took care of it.”

The remains of the Přemyslids have now returned to Olomouc, and were buried in an ornate tin box during a special funeral mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Olomouc Josef Nuzík.