Used as a propaganda tool by the Nazis and Soviets during the Second World War and Cold War, the remains of a 10th-century male, unearthed beneath Prague Castle in 1928, have been the subject of continued debate and archaeological manipulation.

The mysterious skeleton and associated grave goods, including a sword and two knives, were identified as Viking by the Nazis, as a Slavonic warrior by the Soviets and became part of the Czech independence movement in more recent years.

The remains were discovered under the courtyard of Prague Castle in July 1928 as part of an excavation project by the National Museum of the newly established Czechoslovakia to discover the earliest phases of the castle.

The body was located on the edge of an old burial ground from when a hill fort was built on the site, likely dating to AD 800–950/1000.

It was discovered by Ivan Borkovský, a Ukrainian who fought for both the Austro-Hungarians and the Russians in the early 20th century, before escaping to Czechoslovakia in 1920 but he did not immediately publicize or publish anything about the remains or the artifacts.

Under the Nazi regime, the remains became “proof” for the Germanic, rather than Slavic, origin of Prague Castle.

When Borkovský published a book identifying the oldest Slavic pottery in central Europe, the Nazi’s condemned the text and he was forced to withdraw it under threat of imprisonment in a concentration camp. When he published the Prague Castle remains a year later, it was overt in its “Nazi-influenced Nordic interpretation.”

After the war, Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Soviets and in 1945, Borkovský narrowly escaped being sent to a Siberian Gulag because of former anti-Communist activities.

He explained that he had been forced into the pro-Nazi interpretation of the remains and published a second article in 1946 which interpreted the burial “as that of an important person who was related to the early Western Slav Przemyslid dynasty.”

Lead author Professor Nicholas Saunders, from Bristol’s Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, said: “A number of studies have recently begun to re-interpret the remains and ours provides a new analysis.

“The goods found with the remains are a mix of foreign (non-Czech) items, such as the sword, ax and fire striker (a common piece of Viking equipment), and domestic objects, such as the bucket and the knives.

“The sword is especially unique as it is the only one discovered in 1,500 early medieval graves so far found in Prague Castle.

“Perhaps he was a Slav from a neighboring region, who had mastered Old Norse as well as Slavonic, or perhaps he regarded himself as a genuine Viking”

Prague Castle remains to be the most popular tourist destination in the Czech Republic, according to figures put together by Czech Tourism agency. Last year, it attracted over 2.4 million tourists, a nearly three-percent increase year-on-year.

The first 3 tourist destinations in 2018:

1. Prague Castle (2.4 million visitors)
2. Petrin funicular (2.07 million visitors)
3. Prague zoo (1.4 million visitors)

While Prague Castle may be a given, some surprises made the diverse list of locations—which includes plenty of destinations beyond Prague—from the industrial sights of Dolní Vítkovice, to the zoo in Zlín and Aqualand Moravia.

CzechTourism also released some other rankings, aside from the top 50 list. The most popular architectural site was Obecní dům (the Municipal House) in Prague. The most popular memorial site was the ossuary at the Church of All Saints in Kutná Hora – Sedlec. Prague Castle was the most popular castle. The most popular museum was Forest, Game and Fishing Museum at zámek Ohrada in Hluboká nad Vltavou.

Other popular places include the Jewish Museum, the National Theater, Žižkov Television Tower, Průhonice Park, the National Technical Museum. While Průhonice Park is technically outside of the city limits, it is counted as part of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Author: red