Word of the Week: kostel – 'church'

In their Latin language, the Romans had the word castellum, which meant ‘fortress’. This is straightforwardly the origin of English castle, but in Czech it has taken on a religious meaning.

Along with Slovak kostol and Polish kościół, the Czech word kostel refers to an ordinary church building. It’s an interesting shift in meaning, probably rooted in the circumstances when the Czechs first embraced Christianity.

The first churches would have been built in prominent places, often made of stone, and some within the confines of a fortified settlement (known as a gord), and with royal patronage. In these first cases, they would have been quite castle-like.