The new pilgrimage and hiking trail is 132 kilometres long and connects some of the oldest recorded Czech settlements in 11 stages. Somewhere you will find the ruins of ancient fortifications, elsewhere preserved rotundas or churches, and in other places just a wide cleared space on the promontory where fortifications used to stand. If you let yourself be absorbed by the atmosphere of the medieval settlements, you just need to close your eyes to imagine how a retinue with the pagan girl Ludmila, about to marry the Přemyslid prince Bořivoj I, gallops on horseback from the vineyards of Mělník. It is here, at the viewpoint overlooking the confluence of the Vltava and Elbe Rivers, that the St Ludmila Trail begins. Link to the route on the mapy.cz website. St Ludmila Trail | Source: Prague City Tourism St Ludmila Trail, Mělník Towards buildings from the dawn of our history From Mělník, your steps will lead you south through Nelahozeves and Kralupy nad Vltavou to the remains of the former Přemyslid hill fort Budeč near the village of Zákolany. The local church of Sts Peter and Paul is eleven centuries old and at its core is the oldest standing edifice in the Czech Republic. It was in Budeč that Wenceslas, Ludmila’s grandson and patron of the Czech lands, learned Christian liturgy and Latin. And perhaps it was here, or rather a few kilometres further east at Levý Hradec, that Prince Bořivoj and Ludmila decided to embrace Christianity, renounce the pagan gods and join the progressive alliance of European states, thus setting the direction our state would take in the coming centuries. Through a landscape of quarries with a gloomy history After visiting both fortifications, the trail will lead you all the way to Prague Castle. Prince Wenceslas brought the body of his grandmother Ludmila from Tetín to St George’s Basilica in 925 and her remains can still be found here today. Next, you will head through Prague’s Barrandov neighbourhood and the villages of Ořech and Třebotov to the Bohemian Karst. Through a landscape of quarries, where political prisoners laboured under miserable conditions in the 1950s, you will finally reach Karlštejn. The fascinating, geologically interesting landscape will accompany you to the mystical village of Svatý Jan pod Skalou with its magnificent views, remnants of mining activity and reminders of the life of the pilgrim St Ivan, who legend claims was personally known to Bořivoj and Ludmila. Tetín | Source: Berounsko, z.s. and TO Brdy Podbrdsko Tetín as a mute witness of the murder of Princess Ludmila Before you stands Tetín, residence of the widowed Princess Ludmila, who took refuge here after a power dispute with her daughter-in-law Drahomíra. It was here that she was caught in 921 by the assassins who strangled her on Drahomíra’s orders. After touring the sites, Tetín will reward you with a breathtaking view of the Berounka River and city of Beroun, the destination of your journey. Each of the 11 stages of the St Ludmila Trail offers pilgrims an array of questions to ponder, related to the character of St Ludmila or the place in question. In Prague it is possible to deviate from the main route and make a separate tour. This intermediate tour will take you, for example, to Vyšehrad or the Basilica of St. Ludmila in Vinohrady. Church of St. Ludmilla | Source: Prague City Tourism In the footsteps of the first Czech princes and kings Pražská etapa Stezky sv. Ludmily vypráví příběh vzniku raného českého státu, prvních českých panovníků, národních světců a patronů. A především první české světice, přemyslovské kněžny Ludmily, silné inspirativní ženy a političky, která se spolu se svým mužem Bořivojem I. vzdala v 10. století pohanských bohů a přijala křesťanství. Tímto krokem určila nový směr raně středověkého státu. The Prague segment of the St Ludmila Trail tells the story of the founding of the early Bohemian state, the first Czech rulers, national saints and patrons. And above all, the first Czech female saint, the Přemyslid princess Ludmila, a highly inspirational woman and politician who, with her husband Bořivoj I, renounced the pagan gods and embraced Christianity in the 10th century. With this step, she set a new course for the early medieval state. Church of St Ludmila Vinohrady view Church of St Havel Staré Město view Chapel of St Ludmila Vyšehrad view Church of St Thomas Malá Strana view Prague Castle Hradčany view Prague Castle — St George’s Basilica Hradčany view load the map Statue of St. Ludmilla on the Charles Bridge | Source: www.wikipedia.com The cult of Ludmila as a saint began to spread from the Benedictine monastery adjacent to St George’s Basilica at Prague Castle. It was to this site that Ludmila’s grandson Prince Wenceslas had her body transported from Tetín, where she died in 921. Ludmila’s grave remains in the basilica to this day. There are countless locations and buildings around Prague that refer to Ludmila, her grandson and patron saint St Wenceslas and other personalities from the dawn of Czech history. The Prague stage of the St Ludmila Trail visits some of them. On the left bank of the Vltava River is the neo-Renaissance church of St Wenceslas in Smíchov. On the right bank stands the Emmaus Monastery, a former centre of Slavic liturgy founded by Charles IV. The compound was severely damaged by bombing in 1945. The route also leads to náměstí Míru, site of the neo-Gothic church of St Ludmila. It was completed in 1892, at a time when the Vinohrady neighbourhood was experiencing turbulent development and was in dire need of a new parish church. The next stop is a major Prague landmark – the Vyšehrad compound, which served as one of the Přemyslid strongholds in the Middle Ages. There is a small niche chapel dedicated to St Ludmila in the area in front of the Basilica of Sts Peter and Paul. The bastions of the Vyšehrad fortifications are also named after saints – Ludmila’s stands near the Old Burgrave’s House. Vyšehrad | Source: Prague City Tourism Wandering through forests, meadows, villages and towns while contemplating St Ludmila and the dawn of the Czech state leads travellers to a more personal reflection on their own lives, leaving home, their relationships with family and others. The St Ludmila Trail awaits you. More information (in CZ) at: https://www.putovanizakoreny.cz/projekty/stezka-sv-ludmily