Where do swans live? 4K Prague Walk: Smichov, Vltava – Czech Republic 🇨🇿 HDR ASMR

Today, on our4K Prague Walk, we will move around the Smichov area in search of a place on the Vltava River where swans live now.

Smíchov is an urban district and cadastral territory in Prague on the left bank of the Vltava, belonging to the Prague 5 district. It borders Mala Strana to the north, Hlubočepy to the south, and Radlice to the southwest. The Smíchovský cadastre extends to the west north along Plzeňská street to the border with Motol. In its upper part, except for short sections, Plzeňská Street forms the border between Smíchov and Košíře. On the opposite right bank of the river are Nové Město, Vyšehrad, and Podolí from the north. The large Vltava island Císařská louka (opposite Vyšehrad and Podolí) and Dětský ostrov also belong to Smíchov. From 1903–1921 Smíchov was a town; from 1838, it had the status of a suburb. In the middle of the 19th century, Košíre was also part of Smíchov, which later became independent.

Embankment of the Swans: https://goo.gl/maps/ngXjMipEUm5ws4MT9

In the territory of today’s Smíchov, the settlement has been documented since the Middle Ages by archaeological finds and written sources from the 13th century. The Zbraslav Chronicle describes the construction of a beautiful palace made of wooden logs between Petřín hill and the Vltava bank for the coronation ceremony and banquet of Wenceslas II. 1297, which is often identified with Smíchov. From the middle of the 14th century, several church institutions acquired land on the territory of Smíchov. King John of Luxembourg owned the court here from 1341, and he founded a Carthusian monastery with the church of the Virgin Mary, located today from Kartouzská and Štefánikovy streets to the intersection near Anděl. The Cistercian monastery in Plasy owned the yard at the foot of Petřín. It was then – not only on the monastery grounds – that vineyards and hop farms began to emerge. The parish church of St. Philip and Jakub with the adjacent cemetery served the settlement of Smíchov from the Gothic period until the 19th century when it was torn down and replaced by the Neo-Renaissance church of St. Wenceslas.

The origin of the name Smíchov can no longer be reliably documented. According to legend, Horymír was laughing on the Smíchov bank of the Vltava (left bank) when he saved his life on Šemík by jumping from Vyšehrad and swimming across the Vltava. Hájk’s chronicle of 814 states that he ordered Prince Vojen to transport the rebellious Ronovic across the Vltava, where he was to hang himself in the forest. At that time, the evil spirits were said to be so happy that they laughed loudly, so this place began to be called Smíchov (Smijchow). According to another version, the land here was bought by Jan Smíchovský (in 1430), after whom the area is named.

According to one hypothesis, the territory on which today’s Smíchov is located was first parceled out in the 14th century. At that time, a large part was acquired by Eduard Wejšera, one of the first to receive a royal permit around 1390 to breed sheep, goats, and cattle near the royal city. And from this, it is also called Smíchov – “may breed.” Due to the breeding composition, it was called the gravedigger of goats.

The most likely period of origin of the name Smíchov is considered to be the reign of Charles IV. In 1383, the church of St. Jacob. In 1386, the local lands were divided into parcels, and a settlement was created, where the population came from different places and thus “mixed.” The name Smíchov is documented for the first time in 1402 (some sources state the years 1406 or even 1421 – gladiatoris in Smiechow, hortus humuleti cum vineola, qui situs est in Smiechow).

Staropramen brewery near the Na Knížecí bus station
During the Thirty Years’ War, Smíchov was heavily ravaged so that only one house stood there in the middle of the 17th century. In 1684, the Schwarzenbergs bought the indebted estates here; the Martinics also had a garden with a summer house here. Thanks to its convenient location near Prague, the nobility began to establish summer houses and vineyards here. In Birkhardt’s panoramic view of the shelling of Prague by the Prussian army in 1757, Smíchov is untouched; it has two dozen buildings. In addition to the church of St. Jakub and water mills, only Dientzenhofer’s summer house by Schwarzenberg road stands out. From the middle of the 18th century, various factories were established in Smíchov, and 1816 the Porges cardboard box. Gradually, chemical factories, a spinning mill, a factory for mill machinery, and sugar were added.

Recorded in 4k 60fps HDR
Perception Philosophy © 2022
July 26, 2022
Czech Republic ASMR