Blanik ( Czech Blaník ) - a mountain in the Czech Republic, lying near the village of in the neighborhood of the city of Behinj , 30 miles from the famous Tabor .
| Blahnik? | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Absolute height | |
| Location | |
| A country |
|
| Edge | Central Bohemian Region |
This mountain has two peaks, called the Big and Small Blahnik, connected by the so-called Princely Road. On the Small Blanik (580 m) are the ruins of the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, and on the Big Blanik, rising to 638 m above sea level, you can see the traces of an ancient stone fortification, built according to the primitive system of huge stones laid on top of each other without any cement. Near the fortifications there is a dry oak, between the roots of which there is a key of water.
One of the most beautiful legends of the Czech people unites with this mountain: inside the mountain are knights who were once killed in war, lying on the ground and on stone benches; while some hold armor, others hold swords in their hands or sit on horses, bending over their manes. The water of the key, which can be seen on the mountain, flows in a stream between the saddled horses standing at the walls of the cave; every year on the day of Ivan Kupala, the mysterious Blanik opens its bowels, and the knights go to the key to water the horses, after which traces of hooves sometimes remain on the soil. On bright moonlit nights, knights leave the cave for tournaments, after which the earth on the mountain is dug with horseshoes. The knights are constantly on their guard, waiting for a sign when they need to come into the light of day. Once through the hole, considered the entrance to the cave, a young shepherd entered the mountain, who suddenly found himself among the menacing and quiet rows of knights: he inadvertently touched one of them when he woke up and asked: “Is it time to go into battle?”, But the old leader of the knights Saint Wenceslas (according to other sources, Zbynek Zasmutsky ) answered: "No, sleep again ." The time will come when the dry oak will turn green, the water will overflow the key and run down the stream, then the mountain will open and all the glorious Czech knights will emerge from it in order to defeat all the enemies of the fatherland in the final battle.
Similar legends are confined in Moravia to Prince Svyatopolk , in Serbia they talk about Mark Kralevic , in Montenegro - about Ivan Chernoy , among the Luga Serbs , in Little Russia - about Tsarina Elena [ specify ] , in the Volga regions - about Stenka Razin , in Poland in several places - about Queen Jadwig , Władysław Loketka , Boleslav Smel , hetman Stefan Czarniecki and St. John Kant [ specify ] . Legends similar to Slavic legends are found among other peoples, although they are not so complete and not so poetic [comm. 1] . The legend in the Czech Republic, as can be seen from the sources, was already known in the 15th century; the first news of it dates back to 1407; many legends about Blahnik Balbin noted [ clarify ] around 1680.
Comments
- ↑ For comparison: Vera . Spiący rycerze. // magazine "Wisła". - T. III. - S. 845 onwards.
Links
- I.L. Blanik // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.